To the editor:
I write to endorse the candidacy of Odessa Sanchez for the Wellesley Select Board.
The Select Board has been implementing change on many fronts—big project development, climate action, housing, and transportation. I believe that people of Wellesley would benefit from another change over the next three years, and that is the positive change that Odessa Sanchez would bring to the Town’s leadership team. Odessa’s deep commitment to the people who live and work in Wellesley would be a major asset to the Select Board.
Odessa cares about all the people of Wellesley and listens to their concerns. Not everyone in Wellesley is in a top income bracket, and Odessa, a resident of Barton Road, understands that. Odessa cares about those who worry about purchasing an electric vehicle and paying increased fuel costs to heat and cool their homes. Odessa knows that there are Wellesley voters who worry about their household budgets, while paying ever higher and ever-increasing property taxes.
As a mother and coach, Odessa understands the concerns parents have for their children’s future. Moreover, as an African American woman, Odessa understands diversity and inclusion in a way that few in Wellesley can comprehend.
Odessa’s qualifications include many years of volunteering and public service in Wellesley. She chairs the Wellesley Housing Authority. She serves as a Town Meeting Member in Precinct E, as well as on the Historical Commission and the League of Woman Voters nominating committee. She has actively participated on the Town’s DEI task force and civil discourse initiative. Odessa is also active in Wellesley’s Catholic Collaborative and her Barton Road community. Outside of Wellesley, Odessa serves as legislative chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. On the home-front, she lovingly shepherds a blended family of seven children and is a proud grandmother.
I am voting for Odessa Sanchez because I believe that she has the leadership skills, strength of character, common sense, and compassion that would benefit the people of Wellesley. I believe that Odessa would bring these important qualities to the Select Board.
Please join me in voting for Odessa Sanchez for Select Board on Tuesday, March 4.
Donna Maria Ticchi
Wellesley resident
