Brockton- Two recent shooting in Brockton show that crime and danger are a reality for the people who live in the city and the reality for people who don't live here is they don't come here and the perception is not that far off. On Thursday a Campello Neighborhood had a daytime shooting between three motor vehicles and then on Friday night on Taber Avenue 2 people were shot and one was Medflighted to a Boston Hospital and the other was taken to Brockton Hospital. In light of the recent crime we go to the polls on Tuesday to vote for our City Officials.
The Enterprise has come out to endorse Bill Carpenter in the Sunday Issue saying"New ideas on crime fighting, plans for community development, commitment to change the culture of city agencies toward development proposals, a promise to bring diverse voices and faces to the table and a vision for what this city could and should be are all good reasons we recommend voters select Bill Carpenter as the next mayor."
Also endorsing Bill Carpenter is Dick Zaccaro Business owner, Community Activist and recently ran for Ward 7 Councilor. He is quoted as saying " I fully support Bill Carpenter as our next Mayor of Brockton. We can no longer sustain any additional tax increases as currently being proposed by Mayor Balzotti's Administration to balance the $3.7 million dollar fiscal year 2014 budget shortfall. said Zaccaro. " We already have the 20th highest commercial tax rate out of 342 communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and also the 78th highest residential tax rate out of the 342 communities. Any additional tax increase would be devastating to our local economy and result in a further reduction in any new growth."
Gary Keith Sr. who ran for City Councilor is also endorsing Bill Carpenter in a statement to Brocktonbeat "It was a very last minute decision because it was a hard decision to make as I believe that Mayor Balzotti has done a remarkable job over the last 4 years and I really like her personally, but when I ran for city Councillor at large, I did so with trying to make positive changes in our city to move us forward, and after talking to both candidates on occasions, I believe that Bill Carpenter is the stronger candidate to lead this city forward.
AS, I have said on many occasions when Bill and I have talked, we differ on the power plant, but we have more issues than just that and if Brockton were to get a PP, it will be because of the sitting council that will win this Tuesday. As far as some personal issues he might of had, were just that, HIS personal issues, that if I were faced with the same situation, would have probably done the same thing. However, our city budget accounts have safe guards on them called fiscal watchdogs, as well as a CFO and our city Councillors who vote off on anything like that.
The best thing I like about Bill Carpenter for mayor is that he maintained what he believed in throughout the whole election without wavering even in the face of opposition and scrutiny, but he came with a plan, whether you liked it or not, he had a plan which showed him thinking outside the box. Brockton has so many problems that we need someone with new innovative ideas and someone who is going to think outside the norm.
Bill Carpenter is a dedicated family man, like myself and I can relate to him wanting to make Brockton the best place it can be for his family to live and for all families to live. As my campaign slogan was transition for change, well if Bill Carpenter is elected as our next Mayor, the changes that I wanted to see if I were elected to city council will start to materialize."
We are please to announce Brocktonbeat's endorsement of Bill Carpenter. In the past four years starting with the Mayors first real crisis with the Water Billing debacle. We found that in many instances she never talked to the residents or the media. That in the course of the investigation by the firm that was picked to do the audit their own recommendations were that the Water Department was ill-equipped to handled the billing software and were not trained in the past 5 years in using it. We found that Mayor Balzotti fell silent on the people that voted her in and hundreds of residents were left in the dark and had to pay for water they never used. Mayor Balzotti never reprimanded the department heads and this past summer gave them raises.
In the public safety department we feel that Mayor Balzotti will over emphasize the number of police by saying we are adding 12, when in fact they are replacements for retires or those who have left. The net increase has not been above 185 and in fact we are short by 45-50 police.
We need a Mayor that is going to be proactive and act within the first few months of becoming Mayor in looking at Bill Carpenters plan for action, Brocktonbeat feels that its a plan of action and also a plan that can have some immediate impact on Brockton within the first few months.
"The City of Brockton is at a crossroads. We will either roll over and let the criminals take control of our city or we will fight back. I choose to fight back!" said Carpenter. "We will take back our neighborhoods, block by block."
At the heart of the Carpenter 10-point plan is the following:
1. Relentless Pursuit: We will relentlessly, aggressively pursue, remove and prosecute every gang member, thug, pimp and drug dealer in the City of Brockton.
2. Saturated Enforcement: Increase police presence using motorcycle patrols and deploy traffic units to conduct motor vehicle stops in high gang/high crime areas. Utilize every available resource to take back control of the city.
3. Counter-Insurgency Techniques: Adopt counter-insurgency tactics, similar to those used by the U.S. Military in Iraq, to identify and remove urban terrorists from our neighborhoods.
4. Community Police: Every Brockton Police Officer will be a Community Police Officer, working within the community to establish a partnership with the residents of Brockton to fight crime in every neighborhood.
5. Community Involvement: Establish a Street Leader Program, Neighborhood Walks, and distribute materials to residents in multiple languages. Re-launch and promote a “Text a Tip” program, for anonymous reporting of information to police.
6. Police Hiring Plan: Create an aggressive hiring plan to increase the size of the Brockton PD. Proactive Policing will require more “boots on the ground”.
7. Quality of Life: Utilize City Ordinances to conduct Quality of Life Enforcement Campaigns in target neighborhoods. Enforce Loitering, Public Drinking, and Noise Ordinances. Apply the City’s Nuisance Ordinance to remove graffiti, junk vehicles and secure and clean up abandoned homes.
8. Drug Court: Work with State and County leaders to establish a Plymouth County Drug Court in Brockton. 90% of property crime is committed by people stealing to support a drug/alcohol addiction.
9. Community Forums/Programs: Establish regular community forums, meet with civic associations, faith-based groups and newly organized neighborhood associations. Develop & expand community based programs geared toward young people at risk.
10. G.R.E.A.T Program: Re-implement the G.R.E.A.T Program (Gang Resistance Education & Training) in the Brockton Public Schools as the first step in implementing anti-gang and anti-drug curriculum into our Middle and Elementary schools.
Brocktonbeat feels that Bill Carpenter with the work he has already done will be able to start day one with a plan that ready to go. Also Former Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Robert Hayden, has joined the campaign as Special Adviser on Public Safety. He is one person to have on board when it comes to fighting crime. He is credited with creating Boston's first city wide anti-crime gang unit.
On Tuesday, November 5th please vote. You are in Great Company with The Enterprise, Dick Zaccaro, Gary Keith Sr., and BrocktonBeat all who have endorsed Bill Carpenter for our new Mayor for Brockton.
