BRET MURRAY
FOR SELECT BOARD
Choose Change. Choose Bret.
Meet Bret
I’m Bret Murray, and I’m running for the Marblehead Select Board. I previously served on the Select Board from 2011 to 2017, and it would be my honor to serve this town again.
I grew up in Marblehead, and my wife, three sons and I are fortunate to call Marblehead home, embracing all it has to offer. In short, I would be proud to serve on the Select Board to ensure our town remains fiscally strong and continues to be an idyllic place to live.
Professionally, I have worked in the insurance industry for over twenty years, and currently, I am employed as the Director of Risk Management at one of our premier higher education institutions. I am also an attorney.
Our town faces many challenges, but with active stewardship and community engagement, I believe they can be resolved. The three most critical areas are building a strategic plan, developing a reasonable budget and improving transparency.
I am running to serve because
I believe in this community.
— Bret Murray, Candidate for Marblehead Select Board
Bret’s Platform
We are at an inflection point. How we vote in June will determine the future of our community. We have serious issues to address, beginning with our budget deficit, lack of direction, and opaque governing structures.
The time for change is now.
Fiscal Responsibility
Our town has a structural deficit — recurring expenses are increasing faster than recurring revenues. Our long-term leaders knew about this at least four years ago but only started to address this matter weeks before Town Meeting this year. To fund town services for another fiscal year, voters must pass the general override on June 20. Gap overrides are a short-term solution for a long-term problem. We need thoughtful debate about how to fund our town’s operations, including our schools, so it remains a great place to live.
The time for that debate is now.
Strategic Plan
A strategic plan is an important roadmap that details our town’s goals and how to achieve them. Many town departments — from the Park & Rec to the Harbor & Waters Board and the School Committee — have goals that require funding. To effectively guide our community, we need to define our goals through an assessment. Level funding our budget in perpetuity doesn’t work, but neither will approving gap overrides. A strategic plan creates a path for funding what matters to Marbleheaders.
The time to plan is now.
Transparency
Our citizens deserve to know how our town operates and conducts its business. The need for numerous citizen articles at Town Meeting demonstrates that our town is not as open and transparent as it should be. In addition to clear guidelines and procedures for our elected and appointed governing bodies, citizens should have virtual access to meetings and clearly posted minutes. The Select Board, in particular, should be more proactive in communicating. The lack of transparency from our long-term leaders should not be tolerated.
The time for transparency is now.
Bret Murray for Select Board 