Topsfield Voters:
My name is Chris Ruggles and I am a candidate for Select Board in Topsfield. My wife Elise and I have been residents for 23 years. We raised our daughter here where she attended Topsfield Elementary Schools and Masconomet Middle and High Schools. I have volunteered as soccer coach with TAA, worked on our Rail Trail, attend Town Meeting religiously and devoted may hours attending or watching our Town Board meetings.
I was raised in East Hartford, Connecticut in a home where political discussion was frequent, heated, and fun. Friends and family took part in Town and State politics and government. I believe I am uniquely qualified for this job. As a trained scientist, I hold a Ph. D. in chemistry and have worked with scientific information systems utilizing AI technology for many years, developing products to assist chemists with discovering new pharmaceuticals and materials. I have a strong connection to nature and a deep desire to preserve and conserve these resources and will support our efforts to develop a more sustainable way of life. Having served the Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church as Board Chair, and Meeting Moderator I’m familiar Board and meeting rules. I am semi-retired teaching chemistry at North Shore Community College in Danvers and Lynn.
As your Select Board member, I will always respect your views, engage in civil discourse, and strive to engage in thoughtful, data-driven discussions surrounding town issues. Though we will ever agree 100%, you will always know where I stand and you will come to learn I am willing and happy to be persuaded by a cogent argument. I will approach every question before me with the following guiding perspectives front of mind. How does it effect: A) Residents’ daily lives, B) Topsfield’s economic growth, and C) Our natural resources?
So why do I want to serve on the Select Board? I in the wise words of my tennis-loving, Yankee dad, I want to “leave the place better than you found it” and “Never fix a winning game.” A tall tasks to be sure, but as my Irish mom might have said, “Do it with love and you won’t go wrong.”
So as a Connecticut Yankee with an Irish heart, I ask for your vote at our annual Town election Thursday, May 7th at St. Rose of Lima Church.
Please reach out to me rugglesforselectboard@gmail.com if you have any questions, suggestion! ♦
