Sanchez has the experience
Political wit Will Rogers observed “There is nothing as easy as DENOUNCING…it doesn’t take much to see that something is wrong, but it does take some EYESIGHT to see what will put it right again.” Having served twenty years in public life, I learned a thing or two about law making. The House of Representatives forces 160 disparate advocates to agree upon courses of action which impact the entire Commonwealth. Legislative success is achieved through years of diligent advocacy and professionalism. Leadership roles fall to those who’ve earned the respect and confidence of legislative colleagues and after 15 years of dutiful toil, Jeffrey Sanchez finally attained the powerful rank of Ways and Means Committee Chairman. 159 independently elected reps conferred upon Jeffrey the responsibility of authoring our state budget. The seniority clout of Jeffrey’s post ensures obvious benefits for Boston and our district in particular.
We, the voters in the 15th Suffolk District, face a classic choice this September 4th. Shall we retain proven seasoned expertise? …or… Shall we replace it with inexperience and professions to drain the Beacon Hill swamp? For me the choice is obvious. Excellent eyesight trumps feckless denouncing. I’m for Sanchez.
Richard J. Rouse
Director, Mission Hill Main Streets
[Editor’s noted: Rouse writes a monthly column for the Gazette and is formerly a state representative, clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, and Sheriff of Suffolk County.]
Boston Police Commissioner
Last week, we all learned that Police Commissioner Billy Evans would be stepping down from his post as police commissioner a job he has held since 2014 and at the same time Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh introduced his choice as new police commissioner announcing that Supt.-in-Chief Willie Gross will take over the Department after serving as a police officer in Boston since 1985 and raising up in the ranks. He was named the highest ranking BPD police officer by Walsh also in 2014.
After a 28 year career working as a special state police officer for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, I worked with a number of police departments including Boston as a supervising sergeant in Metro Boston DMH. I know what it is like to be a police officer and work with a population often at-risk. I know how important effective communications must be.
I retired in 2013 and never officially worked with Supt.-in-Chief Gross but I have observed in his nearly four years as the highest ranking uniform police office at the Boston Police and have seen him do an incredible job in some very difficult moments in the life of the city. We became friends and every so often, I would offer some sound advice.
I have always been a strong advocate of good relations with the communities the police serve. The motto of most police departments is “To Serve and Protect’ but it must never just be a motto on the side of a cruiser. It must be put into practice every day on every shift. Gross at the press conference said improving relations between the police and the community is his number 1 priority.
Gross will become the city’s first black police commissioner and all eyes will be upon him but he will get up every day a police officer as he has since becoming a police officer 33 years ago. He may have grown up on his grandma’s farm in Maryland but he ended up in Dorchester as a 12 year old when his mother and sisters moved to his adopted home. He has worn a badge since he was 22 years old. It is a part of who he is and he did it for a reason. To serve and protect his neighbors across the city.
He said something so simple and yet so profound at the press conference announcing his promotion. He said, “If you want change, be the change, That is why I became a police officer.
Congratulations to Boston’s newest Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross. A cop’s cop.
Sal Giarratani
East Boston resident