City Councillor Michael Marks Announces Re-Election Bid

Hi, my name is Michael Marks and I’m a candidate for re-election to the Medford City Council. I am a life long resident and homeowner. My wife Lisa and I reside at 37 Wellington Road with our three children Giana, Olivia and Evan. As a member of the City Council, I know first hand that our neighborhoods are the life line of our community. That is why I stood alongside neighbors protesting the encroachment of industry upon their residential neighborhoods. I have been a vocal and active member of the council successfully advocating for many issues important to our residents such as:

-I insisted upon the installation of thermoplastic crosswalks and introduced numerous traffic calming approaches such as raised crosswalks to address speeding and pedestrian safety in our community.

-Offered the resolve which limited the number of months odd/even winter parking is in effect to alleviate parking congestion.

- Led the charge to lower the age of eligibility for a senior property tax exemption from age 70 to 65 assisting those seniors who are on fixed incomes to stay in their homes.

- Actively supported green initiatives such as wind power and the harvesting of rain runoff water for use in lawn irrigation and fire fighting and the use of wind to power our schools.

- Supported major updates in our public schools which included new state of the art science labs and technology.

- Authored the resolve, which created a first of its kind "No Knock" ordinance, which regulates door to door solicitors.

-During tough fiscal times I sought creative revenue enhancing ideas such as the "in lieu of tax payment" which generated more than $1 million of much needed additional revenue used to enhance our schools and public safety.

- Actively pursuing the creation of a parking enforcement department, which will address business, and neighborhood concerns of city wide parking enforcement.

-I have been strong voice against escalating water and sewer rates within our community and have put forth ways to reduce our bills. In my opinion there is a need for two major water and sewer infrastructure improvements...If acted upon could have a potential multi million dollar savings to Medford rate payers.

The first is what is known as I & I that is inflow and infiltration. To put I & I in simple terms it is ground water that is seeping into our aging sewer pipes which is sent out to Deer Island and treated as raw sewage. Roughly 50 percent of our sewer cost is due to inflow and infiltration and its costing rate payers millions of dollars a year.

Second, there currently exist over a dozen catch basins which are supposed to be used to drain rain run-off into the mystic river.... instead are directly connected to our sewer system so every time it rains the water funnels into the sewer system and is being treated as raw sewage. We as a community must move forward on a long-term systematic approach to addressing this important issue.

My involvement in the community is more than appearing at a Tuesday night council meeting it is being part of the many great organizations that make Medford great. Organization's I’ve been involved with include: Brooks Estate Land Trust, Medford Boys & Girls Club, Medford SPED PAC and the Medford Historical Society.

In addition I served on the Board of Directors for the Medford Arts Council Inc. and was actively involved with and supported the creation of a new community art and cultural center, which would give artist and residents in our community a place to explore the arts.

Finally, as your city councilor, I embrace change and diversity in our community. I established office hours at the senior drop in center and at city hall in order to keep in touch with residents who might otherwise feel as though government doesn’t care.

I’ve written numerous op-ed articles in the Medford Transcript addressing such hot-point topics as "How Safe Is Your Neighborhood" and Finding Additional Revenue in Difficult Times" allowing those who don’t follow the City Council to know more about what’s really going on in city government. Each article ends with an invitation for readers’ response.

My commitment to you is that I will continue to be your voice in city government and make myself accessible to all those who wish to be heard no matter how big or small the issue.

I respectfully ask for your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5th so that I can continue my efforts in addressing issues important to our community.

Michael J. Marks
Medford City Council