Hi I’m Rob,
I received 100 votes in the prelim election for mayor and want to thank each and every person that went out and voted. I’m extremely grateful for you. It wasn’t enough to move on to the November ballot - but I’m so honored to have your vote. I’ve never entered into politics but I always fight for the people. And this fight doesn’t stop here because people are struggling. I’m stoked we gave the residents a choice (they haven’t had that in 12 years - so that in itself is a feat to be commended). But the work doesn’t end here. I think the current political atmosphere lacks the view of the people who work for a living and how hard it’s become to survive with rising costs everywhere. And we need someone who will bring the working class perspective to politics & have that perspective in these positions of power so when decisions are made - they are made with working people top of mind.
Let’s consider this outcome, a good start.
Our town, Peabody, has not had a choice for Mayor in over a decade - for over 10 years only one name has been on the ballot. I felt like people not having a choice was Anti-American, so I wanted to change that. My kids and I worked to get myself on the ballot and allow people to have a choice. Vote Rob for Mayor (2025).
To all the people who say “that will never happen”… there’s only one way to guarantee it — to not try.
- With much love & respect,
Robb
Universal Basic Income is a way to help solve so many of our community’s issues.
Do you believe that someone who works a full time job - should not be able to afford basic necessities? Food, housing and the basics should be affordable to anyone working for a living, no matter their job.
I want to raise the minimum wage. Our economy depends on the purchasing power of the people. *see graph below
Educating our children is vital. If we don’t educate & empower the children, there is no hope for the future.
Kids should not be “paywalled” from joining local sports or local community groups. We need to implement discounts to ensure any kid who wants to participate can.
My thoughts on education & our towns school system..
I’d really like to connect with the teacher union in Peabody (I’ve reached out to them, waiting to hear back - beginning of school is busy for them) and see what their insights are to improving our education system in town. I’m a firm believer in seeking counsel from those with direct experience. I believe education should be a priority and we must always find ways to improve & secure more funding for our schools(for the children).
One of the best ways I’ve learned how to develop a plan is by connecting with those who have the experience of doing it successfully & finding out how they did that. And we do that by looking at what some of the best schools systems in the state are doing, reaching out to their mayors, or superintendents & staff and seek them out for their wisdom before continuing any plans. These investments are a lot of money and will provide for the future, so it must be done with discernment.
It’s also fascinating to look at other countries - Finland, Denmark & a few others which have some of the best school systems in the world. And reach out to the people who help create, develop & advise those schools. We can only gain by reaching out to or studying the best in the world.
I’ve heard many concerns about the high school, so I’d be pushing to get all the funding we can get for a new building. I’d also like to work with people in the school system who have been pushing for this project and make sure this gets accomplished - we must plant the seeds now, even if it’s for a tree of which we ourselves will not enjoy its shade. The kids are our future - and we must fight for them to have the best opportunities possible.
We also need to get more funding to the special education program. The teachers are incredible but their resources are limited & the families I know in the program struggle more than other families.
I want to extend the after school programs (FKO etc). They’re limited in what they provide so I want to look into what resources they need. I think if the city acquires some of that land from the gelatin factory land holding deal - we look into investing into green energy but also into a community center for kids of all ages (involving everything from tech/fitness/arts/recreation etc) - my wife had discussed with her friends looking into an old theater in town and reopening that as an arts center.
I want to create a sliding scale for kids to participate in school programs - from athletics to the arts. Kids & families should not be paywalled from joining school & community programs. We have the power to choose to provide accessibility for every child.
Communication is key. We live in a radical time, where we have the instant ability to communicate with each other. As mayor, I would like to create new avenues to get people involved in our community. More ways to keep people informed & educated. We have an amazing local TV station which can be utilized even more. And there are many more ways I plan to involve people.
Healthcare is a human right. What’s the point of advancing medicine & medical technology, if the people can’t afford to access it (without going into massive debt)? Who’s interest does that serve?
We need to ensure our older generations are able to afford their necessities, from heat to medications. I continue to witness more and more people in the older generations working, this is not right - we need a system that benefits the young and old. We must create more ways to help people on fixed incomes.
We must advance our services to the communities with disabilities. I believe we show who we are by how we treat our most vulnerable.
I believe small local companies should be distinguished from the “small” National companies - and so should their tax breaks. We must encourage locals to support & create small local businesses.
Home Owners taxes should not go up, especially while huge businesses taxes are going down. If the people can’t afford to live, they can’t afford to participate in the economy.
Locally our homeowners taxes were raised 4.5% while at the same time - global mega corporations had their taxes lowered by 4%. At the same time our water rates were raised by 30% and the explanation given was that the 2024 budget fell short… I wonder if cutting taxes for mega corporations like Starbucks, Tesla and the mall had something to do with the town taking in less revenue… this is devastating to our community. At a time where these corporations (who use way more water) aren’t paying employees a living wage - now those same tax paying citizens have to pay price for the corporate tax cuts.
We should have a better system in place for local business taxes, so we can allow small truly local businesses to be allowed tax breaks. We need a better tiered tax structure in place.
I believe in Workers Rights and a workers right to Organize. I have been on the receiving end of Union busting retaliation by Starbucks for my (supposed to be) federally protected organizing efforts trying to form a Union and fighting for a living wage. I know the struggle workers today face.
I’d like to introduce a new perspective….
I know some folks want to “run the city like a business”, but businesses operate for profit - without a profit the business ceases to exist.
So I ask those who want to run government like a business, who will this city profit off of?
My belief is government is a system of services. Like I teach my kids, when you are elected to a position - that means you serve & represent the people. Government must have one goal - serving the people. Because without the people, there is no need for government.
I bring a unique perspective with me to every challenge I face. I’ve lived through the suicide of loved ones, I witnessed family fall thru the cracks of society because in America no safety net exists, I’ve survived addiction, I’ve been homeless, I lost my parents at a young age, I’ve continued on after the loss of my career, I fight for the working class everyday - and I know how important community is. Wealthy people may try to tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps but some people don’t even have boots. We all benefit when our communities are healthy and flourishing.
Some more thoughts…..
The minimum wage has been STAGNANT since 2009!!! No matter where you live - the Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 - that’s unacceptable for anyone in America. People work too hard to continue to be exploited.
The Price of EVERYTHING has risen, EXCEPT the price of Labor. Why is that?
We are being priced out of communities, priced out of the same food we bought last year, and priced out of education & healthcare.
We are being taxed more while big businesses are getting tax breaks.
And are we seeing any of that tax money being reinvested into our communities?
We need a new way. We need to fight for the working class. And I’m ready to help.
I continue to see our elders working jobs - not by choice. The older generation should not be forced to work because their necessities have become too expensive.
The older generations should be able to enjoy life and not be forced to work. We have the ability to fix that.
The youth should have access to the best we have to offer without being paywalled.
The ‘rugged individualism’ culture has consumed the American identity - but Americas true identity is community.
We must fight for each other.
Big businesses profits are at historic highs, because they’ve raised prices.
Link to the big companies that are bragging about raises prices & spending more on stock buybacks ⤵️ (stock buybacks were illegal until 1982 - they are used by companies to artificially create stock scarcity which artificially inflates their stock price).
Keep in mind - this next graph is out of date.
