About Mike
When I ran for Planning Board in a contested race in 2012, it was the first time I ran for any elected position. At that time, I really did not have a complete picture of the level of responsibility that the Planning Board holds. After six years, I want to continue to bring my expertise to the town for your benefit.
I am a proud Grafton resident, husband to Katrina, and father to my two children Aria (4) and Aidan (22 months). I am a Senior IT Program Manager for Dell, a graphic design business owner and the founder of READY Grafton, a social media group designed to inform our community about important issues. I have lived here nearly 2 decades and own a home in North Grafton.
Since first running for the Planning Board, I have become a father of 2 wonderful children but have still chosen to commit time to serving my town. I have attended over 200 meetings and spent countless hours at and in preparation for those meetings. I have served as a member of the Grafton Emergency Management Agency, as Chairman of the Economic Development Commission, as Chairman of the Grafton SuperPark Committee, on the Community Preservation Committee, and as representative to the Central Mass Regional Planning Commission. I have also attended multiple Citizen Planner Conferences and spoken in other towns about zoning bylaws and planning.
On the Planning Board, I have served as Clerk, as Vice Chair, and I am honored to have been voted by my colleagues on the board to serve as Chairman of the Board the last two consecutive years. Over the last six years of my two terms, I am proud of several accomplishments: :
1) I successfully defended the public's right to elect Planning Board members against an effort to limit your right to choose.
2) I helped with drafting language and zoning articles for a brand new industry in Massachusetts which included enacting a Marijuana Moratorium that bought the town adequate time to properly plan for and pass zoning bylaws and putting multiple warrant articles forward at a special town meeting so that the people could freely decide if and where they wanted recreational marijuana able to be sold, instead of just giving an all or nothing option.
3) I wrote and passed a budget for Economic Development in FY15 that called for the hiring of an Economic Development Coordinator. While it took some time to get there, the town now has hired an Economic Development Coordinator who will help to reduce the burden on residential tax base.
4) I worked with consultants and the community on developing the North Grafton Transit Village Master Plan.
5) I convinced a subdivision developer to donate a piece of land for safe alternative emergency evacuation of the North Grafton Elementary School.
I have a track record of thoughtful planning and civic engagement, and I have the qualifications needed to get that job done. I attend meetings, understand the extensive time commitment the Planning Board requires, and I take the lead in saying “NO” when necessary and possible.
If so honored with your vote, in the next term, I will:
continue to push for a proactive approach to planning and not just waiting to catch the applications that come before us or issues that arise,
examine zoning in our town, and give the town choices about making changes in order to drive the growth and development towards appropriate locations and away from other less appropriate areas,
encourage other departments and committees to think through the lens of zoning as well and what could potentially be done to further enhance zoning in ways that would help deliver on their objectives and provide improvements for this town,
encourage both the department but also the town to be more transparent, improve the flow of information to the public, and increase the awareness of the town,
promote the development of a North Grafton Bikeway, a Transit Oriented Mixed Use Development including Affordable Housing near the Commuter Rail Station, and development improvements in South Grafton on Main Street and North Grafton on Worcester Street.
Citizens play an active and essential role in deciding the future of a community, so serving as an elected member of the Planning Board offers a critical opportunity to make a difference. I will continue to balance the needs of development and growth with preserving the ideals and areas of this town that make Grafton a great place to live, work and do business.
I bring a good amount of relevant industry and community committee experience, deep personal commitment, character, and integrity and I always strive for full transparency. That is why I founded the READY Grafton network on Facebook - to help others get informed and ready for situations that impact our town. I love giving back to my community and making a difference and it has been an honor serving you the past six years. I humbly ask for one of your two votes for Planning Board on Tuesday, May 15th.
Connect with Mike on Facebook: www.facebook.com/votescully
