Brookline, MA

ANDREW FISCHER for SELECTMAN
This is where it starts …

Dear Friends,

Last year, I jumped into the race for selectman because I felt there should be a debate and a choice about Brookline’s future. Even with a late start, I managed to generate that debate because of the support from people like you. Now, I am encouraged to run again, not so much from the strong showing I made as a first time candidate, but from the strong response to the issues I raised: hearing the neighborhood’s voice in planning and development; controlling and limiting growth; making town government more open, inclusive and responsive; preserving greenspace and the environment. These issues struck a chord. Now I feel an obligation to carry the debate forward and I am seeking your support to do so.

The 2004 election has also inspired me to run again for selectman. It is clear that we will need to continue to fight for the ideas that we fought for in that election. And as Tip O’Neill used to say, all politics is local. As a selectman, I know I can be a voice for you on these issues and more. This is where it starts.

Brookline is a wonderful place to live. We have good schools, fine parks, and a healthy mix of urban culture and open greenspace. But I would like us to be more. I would like not just to protect our haven of parks and schools but to be a model to the rest of the country, a model of how a community can grow while preserving a rich and nurturing diversity. I would like Brookline to be a model of open government, where the neighborhood vision is what drives and controls development. I would like Brookline to be a model of saving tax dollars by saving energy (and delivering the message, in the process, that the most effective way to fight “terrorism” is by cutting our addiction to oil from the Middle East).

I want Brookline to send a message to the rest of the country that we will protect a woman’s right to choice by aggressively arresting and prosecuting people who threaten or disturb the peace of women’s health care providers. I want Brookline to be a model of inclusivity, where every member of our diverse community feels a part of the community, and feels that they share in the decision making and in the benefits of the community. Brookline already is a great place to live, but we can rise to an even greater challenge. Brookline can be a model for all that makes our American democracy great. We should settle for nothing less. To do this, I will need your help.

This is where it starts!

Sincerely yours,

Andrew M. Fischer

For more information about this campaign, please email info@electandrewfischer.com

Interested in this campaign? Volunteer here!

Andrew Fischer and Linda Jason, law partners and husband and wife.

Andy with his three children, Teddy (Brookline High School '04), Miriam (BHS '99), and Shira (BHS '96).