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Health & Fitness

Now get out there, get involved and vote!

I distinctly remember getting those first few signatures to become an at-large candidate for Waltham City Council. It was just this past spring, but it feels so very, very long ago. And now, with Election Day upon us tomorrow, I’m sure I feel like every other candidate for office, especially us rookies. I’m both excited to get the votes counted and a little sad to leave this new experience behind me.

I’ve loved every minute of this campaign … even when I was melting while knocking on doors in July and pacing with nerves before the League of Women Voters forum last month. I’ve learned so much about myself and, more importantly, about my community and my neighbors by pushing beyond my comfort zone.

I hope now that Waltham residents will push themselves a bit out of their comfort zone and embrace new ideas that I know will create a better future here for all of us. The time has come for our city to reignite that spirit of innovation and forward-thinking that our forefathers and mothers used to fuel this great city’s development.

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The number of voters hitting the polls recently may point to a sense of apathy in Waltham, but I know from talking with so many of my neighbors that there is a great shared passion here. From the heart of our urban South Side to our woodsy border with Lincoln, I’ve spoken with residents who are united in their desire to see Waltham continue to improve.

I want to do my part in improving this city and in helping to meet the challenges we face as a community. I strongly believe, the first step in doing that is improving communications in Waltham. I never thought I’d have a stump speech, but when you know your message is important, there’s nothing more important than staying on that message. And repeating it over and over again …

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We have to better inform our residents of all the vital issues and good things going on in Waltham. Nothing is more important in terms of getting more residents involved and building a stronger community. Our future depends on it.

Also, we need to break down any barriers that keep people from engaging with City Hall and getting the services we all deserve access to quickly and easily. As I’ve written here before, I’m a big proponent of Waltham creating a 3-1-1 Constituent Services program. It is an investment in our future that will connect more residents with our municipality, create accountability at all levels and give us data to build smarter budgets in years to come.

Racing to knock on doors this last weekend of campaigning, I was thrilled when someone took a few minutes to share a question or concern they had on their mind. Often it was a frustration with something wrong in their neighborhood (poor snow-plowing being at the top of list). But even in the frustration, the enthusiasm for fixing the problem always seemed to outweigh the anger.

It gives me great encouragement that all eyes really are focused on working together for our community. I’m very excited to keep doing my part for our great city. This campaign has been an amazing experience and I can’t thank my family, my supporters and volunteers, my fellow candidates and the neighbors I’ve met along the way enough. Thank you!!!

I hope that you will consider voting for me for City Councilor At-Large. But more than that, I hope you will go out and get involved in building this city’s future.

And please join us on Election Night, Tuesday, Nov. 5th, at The Gaff at 467 Moody Street. Win or lose (hopefully win), we’ll be partying and toasting the future of Waltham, starting soon after 8pm. See you there!

Carlos Vidal is an at-large candidate for Waltham City Council

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