I would like to thank Richard Sullivan for his many years of service to the people of Scarborough. Richard served on the Town Council for the past three years. He previously was a volunteer fireman for many years.

Richard was a sound voice for fiscal responsibility and used a common-sense approach to town business. But an avalanche of letters to the editor prior to the election sought to discredit him for being part of a so-called council majority. If sharing a philosophical belief on how our town government should function with some of his peers is considered being part of a majority, then so be it. If this is the standard of measurement, then Sullivan was part of a council majority that included Councilors Crispin, Ross, Maroon, Kennedy, Downs, Wood, Foley-Ferguson, Ahlquist and Babine.

Richard deserves some of the credit for the growth management ordinance, impact fees, $3.5 million in land bond conservation, Haigis Parkway, Memorial Park, a $5 million increase in the rainy day fund, restructuring of RWS (saving $15 million over a 10-year period), a $27 million addition to Scarborough High School and a $22 million increase (183%) in the school budget. All of this was done while keeping the average tax rate increase at 2.5 percent over a 12-year period.

Time will tell whether the new council majority can match this record. It may prove to be very shortsighted to vote off the most fiscally conservative councilor during tough economic times.

Jeffrey Messer
Scarborough