It is my pleasure to tell you a little bit about myself and why I would make an excellent addition to the Woonsocket City Council. First, I am 32 years old and I was born and raised in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. My professional background is in Accounting, I worked 8 years as a Project Accountant for an environmental company in Massachusetts. I am skilled in all aspects of project life cycles including but not limited to Accounting, Contracts, Budgets, Purchasing and Auditing.
At the young age of 20, I was diagnosed with a very serious illness after which I was blessed with a new outlook on life. I realized that life was not about me, that it was about so many other things like family, community & culture and service to others, to name a few. It was then that I realized my gift in this life is that of service. I began volunteering for local food pantries and soup kitchens in the greater Attleboro, MA area, which I continued for over 10 years. I served in Haiti and the Dominican Republic on several mission trips. I organized the collection and distribution of blankets to the homeless and in need, in my community. These just to name a few.
Shortly after moving here, several years ago, I faced another challenge, I was laid off from my job. Almost a year later, after countless hours of job searching and wondering how to pay the bills, I got a job here in the city. Thank goodness! For the last 2 years I have been volunteering for the Harris Elementary School PTO. My first year I was elected Secretary of the PTO and last year I stepped up to fill the role of Treasurer. Last year I served as a co-leader of a Daisy Girl Scout Troop here in the city. I am also a member of the Woonsocket Elks.
Although I do not come from a long line of politicians, or have a political background, I believe this works in my favor. I have nothing to gain politically other than a seat on the City Council, I do not owe anyone any favors and I have no hidden political agendas. My sole purpose for running for City Council is to get involved and help to make a difference in the community in which I call home. When I was in high school my best friends aunt was a council woman and she fought hard for her city. I always thought how great is that, that she is just a person, someone I know, a mother, an aunt and here she was out there fighting for her community and the things that she believed in. I believe that a seed was planted then and I always had that in the back of my mind that someday when I settled into a community that I would call home, I would choose this avenue of service to my community. All the challenges, accomplishments and even some failures have led me to this place where I am at today. A place where I can say, I live in this city, I proudly call Woonsocket my home, I am a strong, creative & talented, young woman who can make a difference!
I support our teachers, firefighters, police officers, local businesses and our community. I also support younger generations getting involved, taking responsibility for, and making a difference, in their communities. As well as good old fashioned hard work. What I do not support is wasteful spending or the spending of money that we do not have, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours or driving local businesses away. I also do not support suing ourselves and the legal fees to do it. Raising taxes should be the very last alternative, after every other possibility has been exhausted, after every other feasible cut has been made. Just like many other families in this city, I know & feel the negative impact of these added financial burdens.
Areas where I would like to make significant progress towards positive change are: contract reform, reducing wasteful spending, maintaining many of the events that make ours an attractive community, keeping the residents of Woonsocket informed and overall just getting more bang for our buck!
In closing I would like to say that although you may not see my campaign signs on every corner, and I may not have as many financial resources as other candidates; you can be assured, that I will do my homework, I will research what I do not know, I will work hard for you, I will be honest and fair and I will make choices that best serve and represent, the hard working citizens of this great city! Your vote counts, please consider your vote for me, Kathryn LeBlanc for Woonsocket City Council.
