The Haverhill Preliminary Mayoral Election is Tuesday September 12, 2023
For our second candidate review, we are covering
Debra Campanile
Background:
Debra Campanile is a 40-year resident of Haverhill. She was a candidate for Mayor in 2011, losing to John J. Fiorentini. She is also a former City Councilor. Campanile was an employee of the federal government for 42 years, working for The Department of Treasury.
Public safety: Campanile maintains the fire department has problems that have been ignored for too long. The fire station needs to be rebuilt, new equipment is needed, and the department’s employees should be paid more. In addition, she is suggesting metal detectors for the schools.
Economic development: Campanile has suggested a “GoFundMe” account for the city rather than raising taxes. She is looking for ways to avoid raising taxes. She says there is a lot of growth in the city and that sometimes there can be too much growth. With growth comes more people, which impacts the schools. Regarding a cultural center or venue to attract commerce, she recommends exploring what surrounding communities are doing and basing a course of action on that.
Education: Campanile believes the school systems are not in good shape, especially compared to other cities. This will get attention if she is elected. Also, she acknowledges that the school staff’s diversity is inadequate and needs attention. Campanile opposed a recent debt exclusion referendum to support the building of a new school, maintaining there was enough money in the budget and the proposition was unnecessary.
Infrastructure: Campanile sees infrastructure problems reflected in the complaints of people she talks to, mainly roads and streets. She prioritizes investments in infrastructure to protect the environment but reflected that there are problems with the court-ordered water project.
Housing: Rents and rent control are a severe problem in Haverhill, according to Campanile. Rents are becoming unaffordable for many, especially lower-income families. She intends to look into the issue in depth if elected. At a candidates’ forum, she said that population growth was due to the increased number of apartments and housing and that she didn’t see affordable housing as a problem.
Read more about the Haverhill Mayoral Candidates on our MA1st 2023 Mayoral Candidates page
by Citizen for Truth Contributor
Sources:
http://haverhillcommunitytv.org/video/haverhill-mayoral-candidate-interviews-august-2023
Massachusetts First 
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