To the Editor:

Once a month, around an old wooden table in the Borough Office at Edmond Town Hall, I have the privilege of collaborating with Jim Gaston and other elected and appointed officials to transact business as a member of the Borough Board of Burgesses. As the Borough Warden, Jim leads with a quiet but steady confidence, always listening to others' viewpoints and carefully gathering facts before making a decision. As a result of his and others' hard work, the Borough is on solid financial ground, with a carefully crafted budget that invests in the infrastructure of our one-square-mile village while maintaining a stable tax rate that has been devoid of large annual spikes up or down.

Jim's knowledge of finances and budgeting has been a benefit to the entire community of Newtown while he has been a member of the Newtown Board of Finance. He is an able steward of our tax dollars, always looking for ways to make our government run more efficiently while not neglecting schools or municipal assets. Given the state's precarious financial situation, we need leaders like Jim who can plow through our budget line by line, assess needs and wants, and find creative solutions to maintaining our quality of life.

I am deeply grateful to Jim for his service to Newtown. I endorse his re-election to the Board of Finance, and I hope you will give him your vote.

Respectfully,

Chris Gardner, Borough Board of Burgesses

4 Mt Pleasant Terrace, Newtown         October 18, 2017