To the Town of Lynnfield,

As a former member of both the Select Board and School Committee, I have always valued, above all else, our residents who continue to step forward to offer their time and significant talents to honorably serve our wonderful community. THANK YOU to each and every candidate who stepped forward this election year to offer their services to one of our local boards or committees. Your dedication and commitment to the Town of Lynnfield is greatly appreciated!

I know full well the many challenges and stress-filled situations that our elected officials and their families face on a daily basis as a result of their willingness to serve our community. I would like to take this time to sincerely thank our elected officials who chose not to seek reelection after their many years of dedicated service. Their service to our community has contributed greatly to helping us maintain our continued success for many years to come. Volunteer leadership is exactly what we should celebrate and honor in the Town of Lynnfield because it is the foundation for our success. These volunteer leaders are the reason why we can all be so proud to call the Town of Lynnfield our home — THANK YOU!

My difficult decision to not seek reelection three years ago was made all the more easy when I learned that Joe Connell was willing to step forward and offer his service as a member of the Select Board. As a resident and elected leader, I knew Joe Connell was the perfect leader we needed then — AND NOW — to help maintain the continuity of effective leadership necessary to sustain the forward progress we made and continue to make on such important matters like supporting the many needs of our excellent school system, protecting our natural resources, maintaining our historic buildings and memorials, cultivating our business partnerships, improving our infrastructure, upgrading our public facilities, and maintaining our strong financial standing.   

After three years of exemplary service on the Select Board, Joe Connell has continued to demonstrate that he has the leadership qualities we need to make sure all residents, young and old alike, have everything they need to continue to thrive and find genuine satisfaction as residents in the Town of Lynnfield. This satisfaction does not come easy because we know that challenges will always exist to maintain forward progress on achieving our lofty short- and long-term goals and expectations. We can rest assured knowing that our future success is guaranteed because we have a leader, like Joe Connell, who already has a proven track record of success leading our community and the exact skill set we need in a leader to help lead our community in the challenging years ahead. 

Joe Connell’s personal and professional success is well known, admired, and celebrated in our town and across our nation. His impact on numerous town boards will be felt for many years to come due to these boards having benefited greatly from his important leadership quality of being a thoughtful and meticulous leader when it comes to making difficult and sound decisions that will have a significant impact on our community. In the years ahead, our community will need a proven leader like Joe Connell who has what it takes to make the difficult decisions that will impact all of us, especially when it comes to fighting to maintain town services at a level that is affordable for all residents.  

Under the leadership of Joe Connell, the Select Board has continued to secure and maintain the trust of the taxpayers of the Town of Lynnfield by achieving goals in a financially responsible manner. This trust is hard earned and not given freely to any elected board, especially our own Select Board. It is truly impressive to consider that, under Joe Connell’s sound leadership, we have accomplished much as a community without the need to pursue and secure an operational override! 

While candidates speak about what they can possibly do for the Town of Lynnfield, Joe Connell already has a strong record of success as a strategic leader that we, as a community, can continue to trust to meet the formidable challenges that lie ahead. His admirable role leading the committee that developed our comprehensive Strategic Plan has already benefited and will continue to benefit the Town of Lynnfield for many, many years to come.

When our community needed a strategic leader to help complete the elementary school expansion project on time and under budget, we called upon Joe Connell to lead the charge to make it happen!

When our community needed a strategic leader to develop the plan to renovate Town Hall and build two new public safety buildings, we called upon Joe Connell to lead the charge to make it happen!

When our community needed a strategic leader to help develop the plan to purchase the Richard Green to increase our recreational land offerings, we called upon Joe Connell to lead the charge to make it happen!

When our community needed a strategic leader to help keep the Lynnfield Rail Trail on the path toward completion, we called upon Joe Connell to lead the charge to make it happen!

When our community needed a strategic leader to finalize a memorial worthy of honoring our heroic men and women who admirably served in the United States Armed Forces, we called upon one of their very own, Col. Joe Connell, to lead the charge to make it happen!

Now when our community pauses on April 9 to once again elect a leader who will continue to make extraordinary things happen for the Town of Lynnfield, please join me and my family in supporting the one important factor of our community’s success for the past six-plus years: Joe Connell. This is definitely not the time for change on the Select Board, but an opportunity to once again support a remarkable leader, like Joe Connell, who continues to quietly and publicly take the lead in making positive things happen for the Town of Lynnfield!

As always, thank you for your consideration and continued support for the Town of Lynnfield. I will always greatly appreciate it!

Thank you,

Chris Barrett