First, full disclosure: Cindy Friedman her husband John Page were my family’s next door neighbors for more than thirty years; our children and theirs went to Arlington schools together. Over all those years, we never had a harsh word, a strong testimony to Cindy’s humanity. We are close friends.
We often disagreed, Cindy, a progressive, and I, a conservative; in our two-family group I was usually the odd man out, three against one. But we listened to each other and learned new things. Cindy is always open to hear all other ideas and respectfully weigh them, just like her mentor, the late and loved Senator Ken Donnelly. Long before she was the Senator’s Chief of Staff, Cindy committed herself to public service in Arlington, to making our community a better place. She has taken key roles in override campaigns and debt exclusions that resulted in improved Arlington services and enhanced education of our children. She has worked on or led many of the non-partisan campaigns that have produced a new generation of leaders in our Town’s government. Cindy is energetic and dedicated.
Cindy was a long-time Town meeting member serving the interests of her precinct and Arlington’s community at large. About seventeen years ago, I lured Cindy onto a Town committee I chaired; it turned out that this effort intensively consumed two and one-half years of our lives. I learned in this work that Cindy has a mind like the proverbial steel trap: fast to learn, incisive on any issue and tenacious in the application of her core principles. Friendship never secured her support, only the merits counted.
I will not recite the typical list of what Cindy stands for or against, you can easily find that elsewhere. From long experience and close proximity I know Cindy’s ethics, vision and courage. I know her open-minded approach to the world. I know her commitment to our community, our state and our country. As senator, Cindy will be an invaluable asset to Arlington, our district and our state. Cindy has my support and my vote, I ask that you give her yours.
Charlie Foskett
Town meeting Member Precinct 8
Vice-chair Arlington Finance Committee
Chair, Arlington Capital Planning Committee