Janey Goodwin 1

My name is Janey Goodwin and I live at 53 John Scott Boulevard with my husband and our three daughters. I  was born and raised on the North Shore, but I moved to Norton almost 21 years ago in 1998 with my husband,  who is a lifelong resident. Our daughters, ages 15, 14 and 10, all attend the Norton Public Schools. I currently  teach history at Foxborough High School and prior to that I taught at Norton High School. However, I resigned  from Norton High School in 2005 to stay home with my children when they were first born. When my family and  I decided it was time for me to return to work, I began working in the Social Studies Department at Foxborough  High School.  I would like to be an elected member of the Charter Commission because I think this Commission is what Norton  and its residents need right now. The Charter Commission has the opportunity to study our local government  and assess the possibility of making changes which will better serve the future of Norton and its residents. I  believe a common misconception of the formation of this Charter Commission is that the Commission is looking  to take away people’s voices. In my eyes, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The main goal of this Charter  Commission is to evaluate our form of government and to investigate and assess other options and the impact  they may have; it is important that the Commission do this all while continuing to inform the public, seek their  opinions, answer their questions, and encourage their active participation throughout the process. If the Charter  Commission's studies conclude that a change to our government would better suit Norton and its residents, they  will make a recommendation which will then be voted on by the residents of Norton. The Charter Commission  will NOT make any changes - the Charter Commission will only make recommendations, which will then be  voted on by the townspeople.   As a candidate, I think it is important that all members come to the Commission with an open mind. I do not  intend to come to the table to simply push my own thoughts and ideas. My goal in coming to the Charter  Commission is to work collaboratively with eight other people, as well as the residents of Norton as they attend  meetings, ask questions, and give input. I want to stress the importance of the varying voices and differing  opinions being heard by this committee. In the end, any changes recommended by this Committee are for ALL  the residents of Norton, so it is vital that the Committee seeks their participation throughout this process. I  strongly believe that over the next eighteen months, the direction of the Charter Commission will follow the path  of not just nine people, but the residents of this town as well. In my opinion, bringing a personal agenda to the  Charter Commission would be doing a disservice to both the residents of Norton and the Commission itself.    We, as candidates, would like to ask the residents of Norton to vote YES on the formation of this Charter  Commission, an opportunity in which the residents of Norton literally have nothing to lose. If the Commission  makes recommendations you don't approve of, you can vote no to those changes. We would also like to ask  that the residents of Norton participate in this process as much as they can or desire. The Charter Commission  will make every effort to seek the participation of the community; having active residents will ensure that all of  Norton’s voices and opinions will be heard.  On a personal note, I have always had a passion for the history of our government; teaching how it works and  functions is one of the highlights of my job. I continually strive to encourage my students- and my girls - to  become productive and responsible citizens and I teach them how to do so by providing them with the  knowledge and skills they need to form educated opinions and make responsible decisions. As a secondary  education teacher, I love teaching teenagers. They are such an amazing group of young adults who will, in a few  short years, enter the political force as they come of legal voting age. I personally believe that the formation of  this Charter Commission gives our local teens studying government and civics a great opportunity to see how a  process like this works. As a member of the Charter Commission, I would love to reach out to our teachers and  students, see where their curriculum overlaps with our process, and determine how we can use the Charter  Commission as a hands on teachable moment for the students of Norton. We just might have some future  politicians sitting in our classrooms...  Please come out and vote YES to the formation of the Charter Commission on April 23rd. I would love the  opportunity to serve Norton in this capacity and I would greatly appreciate your vote.