By Robert Gillis
Published in the Foxboro Reporter as a Letter to the Editor (political op/eds for regular columnists not allowed) in 4/2010
To the editor,
My dear friend Lynda Walsh is running for re-election for selectman, and I encourage you to vote for her on Election Day.
Lynda and I have been Jaycees for about the same length of time (1993) and she is more than a fellow Jaycee–she is a leader, a true friend, a confidant.
It was Lynda who was president of the Jaycee chapter for a record two terms. As president, she was hands-on but encouraged others by delegating, encouraging, and listening to all sides of an issue.
In 1998, she called me and convinced me to serve for the first time on the Jaycee board of directors. “Bobby, I need you on my board,” she said. How could I say no? She inspires others to action. You just can’t say no to Lynda Walsh. Her no-nonsense approach serves her well.
In 1999, the Jaycees were dealt a double blow when the Payson Road location of our Haunted House fund-raiser was condemned, and Spooky World came to town. It was Lynda who chaired our haunted house that year and established Camp Lincoln Hill as the new location — calling that task Herculean is an understatement, but it was done, it succeeded, and she set the blueprint we followed for another five successful years at that location.
She has served as president of the Massachusetts Jaycees, overseeing all the state chapters and still found time to help around Foxboro.
She has served on the Founders Day committee, and most recently is a valued member of the board of Trustees for the Doolittle Home, and has three times chaired the cable auction — a Herculean task to say the least.
She is a mentor to many people in town, and always ready to lend an ear and give advice. She navigates the minefields of politics with seeming ease.
Lynda, a lifelong townie, has a real love for Foxboro and I have always known her to weigh her decisions carefully and act in what is the best needs of the many. She jumps into every community service project and endeavor with gusto and leads others with her trademark smile and genuine sense of humor. She is not a phony; she is not someone trying to add a political title to her resume. She served as selectman for the reason she does everything else — she loves this community and wants to work to make it better. She gets involved. She makes a difference.
During her tenure as selectman, Lynda’s mission has been to the town, and she has kept her sense of humor and memory of why she ran for office in the first place. As selectman, she is often a voice of reason, the voice of calm, saying the right thing at the right time.
She is one of those people who checks her ego at the door, never letting personal feelings or agenda interfere with what is right for our town. She has always had Foxboro’s interest at heart and puts those interests first.
She has been an exemplary selectman and she would like the opportunity to keep doing the work and fighting the good fight on our behalf. We should ensure she is able to do so.
On Election Day, please send our friend Lynda Walsh back to Town Hall for another term as selectman – we need people like Lynda speaking for all of us.
So with that in mind, I would ask you to consider voting for my dear friend Lynda Walsh for reelection as selectman. Her leadership skills, organization, good nature, and love of Foxboro will continue to make a real difference in our local government.
UPDATE 5/3/2010: Lynda’s bid for re-election was SUCCESSFUL!