The Haverhill Preliminary Mayoral Election is Tuesday September 12, 2023
The final Haverhill Mayoral candidate spotlight in this series is
Scott Wood
Background:
Scott Wood is a lifelong Haverhill resident and a Haverhill Public Schools graduate. Wood was elected to the Haverhill School Committee two years after graduating from high school. He is the youngest elected official in the history of Haverhill and is still serving on the Committee. After high school, Wood attended Fisher College, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Management and an Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice. Wood was in law enforcement for ten years and has spent 20 years in the Financial Industry. He is a Senior Loan officer at Mortgage Equity Partners.
Public safety: Wood’s primary focus is on public safety. He believes the fire department needs to get up to date with their equipment. He believes in community policing and recommends police substations in higher-risk areas.
Economic development: Wood wants the city to do a better job competing for new businesses. Neighboring towns like Methuen do a much better job and are more business-friendly than Haverhill. Fiber optic access must also be expanded and improved to bring high-paying jobs to Haverhill.
Education: Wood advocates for increasing the wages of teacher aids at public schools. They are the lowest-paid staff in the system and deserve a living wage. Two other members of the School Committee are also in favor of such a proposal. As a member of the School Committee, Wood is involved in hiring and firing administrators and is also involved in collective bargaining. He believes these are assets he brings to the job of Mayor.
Infrastructure: A clean Merrimac River can be an asset to the city. Wood expressed concern that the city has slacked off on the clean water project and should be sped up. He intends to focus on essential city services such as street repair, snow plowing, etc.
Housing: Wood prioritizes keeping Haverhill affordable and preventing people from being priced out of their homes, especially the elderly and people on fixed incomes. He believes raising taxes and asking for debt exclusions and overrides should always be the last choice to accomplish that goal.
Read more about the Haverhill Mayoral Candidates on our MA1st 2023 Mayoral Candidates page
by Citizens for Truth Contributor
Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/scottwoodjr
http://haverhillcommunitytv.org/video/haverhill-mayoral-candidate-interviews-august-2023
Massachusetts First 
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