To the editor:
The town of Great Barrington is fortunate to have a qualified candidate who is new to the political process running for the board of selectmen. Kate Feuer Burke is 32. The town needs a young person with a fresh perspective who will represent families with small children. She has two. Many people know her as the very able manager of the farmers’ market. Prior to that she managed the store at Rubiner’s, worked on development and the planning of events for Community Health Programs, and, early on, worked at the Old Tavern on the Green.
Kate has been attending selectmen’s meetings and developed a list of issues she would address if elected. Perhaps the most important is a 10-year, longterm capital plan that would avoid the roller coaster of the several recent successful but costly projects that caused such consternation among the tax-paying public.
One ot the problems frequently talked about is the difficulty of attracting young families to the area, primarily because of lack of affordable housing and good jobs, with the anticipated steep decline in school population. By advocating for schools, family issues, housing and economic development, Kate will contribute ideas attractive to families with children. She will also work to involve more young people in the political process. And finally, she would propose improvements in infrastructure, specifically roads and bridges (our roads are the bumpiest and most potholed in South Berkshire).
Kate grew up in the area and graduated from Monument Mountain Regional High School. She has a BFA in dance from the University of Missouri in Kansas City. Her daughter, Aoife, and son, Wylie, will be attending Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School. He husband, Joe, is a carpenter. There is a tradition of social service in her family. Her mother, Mary Feuer, manages WIC and family services at CHP. Her inlaws are Jane and Larry Burke of Flying Cloud Institute.
Currently, Great Barrington has a competent selectboard, but they are all male and some have been serving in various capacities in town government for many years. It is time for for those of us who are older to move over and give the young people who are raising families and doing most of the work in society a chance to run things.
Eunice Agar
Great Barrington
