LETTER TO THE EDITOR: House Passes FY13 Budget

State Rep. Tom Conroy explains propostions to increase local aid funding.

Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a FY13 budget proposal that returns to cities and towns much of the increased state revenues that have been generated by a stronger state economy. Later this month, the State Senate will pass its version of the budget, and the after the two legislative versions are reconciled in June, a final budget will be sent to the Governor for his signature, likely before the start of the FY13 on July 1. Each year, my top priority has been to increase local aid to the communities that I am proud to represent, and this year my colleagues and I in the House proposed to increase local aid funding in several ways to help lessen the burden of the recession on municipalities: We also level-…

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Spending Priorities

State Rep. Tom Conroy presents a 5-year review of Gov. Patrick's first budget.

Five years ago I scrutinized Governor Patrick’s first budget proposal (FY08) to determine if it was prudent, responsible, and reflected the right priorities.  I did so in order to make recommendations on improving it. Given my own analysis and what I heard from constituents like you, the budget the Governor proposed and the legislative alternative that ultimately became law later that year met those standards. Let’s fast forward to five years later. What does the budget look like now? What has changed? Are we still funding the right programs? Are the Governor and legislature being good stewards of taxpayer dollars? To answer these questions, we should ask whether the Governor’s proposed budget — and any alternative we put forward in the …

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State Rep. Conroy Holds Office Hours Today

Meet the state representative at Goodnow Library.

State Rep. Tom Conroy will hold his local office hours in Sudbury today at Goodnow Library from 4:30-5 p.m. Constituents are encouraged to come meet the representative, share their views on relevant topics, and bring important issues to his attention.  No appointments are necessary and meetings are held on a first-come, first-serve basis in the small meeting room on the second floor. He is seeking re-election as state representative in the newly configured 13th Middlesex District, which consists of Sudbury, along with parts of Wayland, Framingham and Marlborough.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: How Valuable is Mobility?

The following was submitted by State Rep. Tom Conroy.

Throughout the world, people are willing to pay handsomely for mobility.  Trillions of dollars have been spent over the past couple of decades on mobile phones, mobile water (i.e., bottled water), mobile computers (laptops, IPads) and automobiles. We want to be active and productive, wherever we are. And that’s great for our economy and our quality of life. But while we are willing to pay full cost embedded within the total price of a mobile product to the private sector producer for the use of the infrastructure that enables such products (e.g. telecommunications spectrum, cell towers, internet servers), we are not willing to pay fully the same premium to the public sector for the roads and railways and bridges that we use to move …

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: State House Accomplishments in 2011

State Rep. Tom Conroy offers his view of all the transactions from the past 12 months.

As we close out 2011, it’s appropriate to review accomplishments at the State House over the past 12 months, with a particular eye toward how new laws will affect Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland. I welcome your feedback on these achievements so that I can better serve our communities. Expanded gambling was passed into law after many years of debate. As many know, I actively spoke out against this initiative over the past five years, in part because of the risk it poses to maintaining local aid for our towns.  Those of us who are skeptical about the amount of new revenue or new jobs that gambling could bring to the state will shift our attention to ensuring that this new law is implemented appropriately and transparently.  Unintended …

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PatchCast

PatchCast Video: Senate Race Changes and Construction Continues

A regional roundup of headlines from Acton, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston

Follow the links below for more on today's featured stories.

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Conroy Exits One Race, Announces Candidacy in Another

Tom Conroy will not be running for a U.S. Senate seat in 2012, but he will pursue re-election as the incumbent representative for the 13th Middlesex District.

Tom Conroy officially announced Monday he is withdrawing from the 2012 U.S. Senate campaign and, subsequently, his intention to run for a fourth term in the Massachusetts House. “It’s the right thing to do for me, for my family, for the people of the 13th Middlesex District,” Conroy said in a phone call with Patch. Conroy, a Democrat from Wayland, entered the 2012 Senate Democratic primary race in June and soon thereafter launched a 650-mile walk throughout the Commonwealth geared toward meeting constituents and talking through issues. When Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren entered the race in September, Conroy said, her candidacy gave the other individuals already in the race  “a lot of pause” and caused them “to reevaluate the …

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Tom Conroy's Camp Reacts to Changing Senate Race

With Setti Warren's withdraw, Rep. Tom Conroy (D-Wayland) is now one of six democratic candidates challenging Scott Brown for his Senate seat.

Rep. Tom Conroy (D-Wayland) is optimistically focused on moving forward in his 2012 Senate campaign even as another democratic candidate, Setti Warren, withdraws his candidacy. Jon Saxton, Conroy’s campaign manager, expressed respect for Warren and his campaign, saying they found Warren to be a worthy democratic candidate who would have made an excellent senator, but the Conroy camp was not necessarily shocked at Warren’s decision. “I’ve said all along that when Elizabeth Warren got into the race, it would help our campaign,” said Jon Saxton, Conroy’s campaign manager. “When she comes in, she overshadows [Alan] Khazei, [Setti] Warren. I truly feel like those folks don’t have anywhere to go anymore; whereas Tom Conroy is distinct from …

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Conroy: Power Restored to Sudbury by Saturday

Residents in the dark express displeasure.

Sudbury residents who remained in the dark Monday night received news about when power would be back from State Rep. Tom Conroy. Posting on his Facebook page and Twitter account, Conroy said NStar told him all of Sudbury would have power back by Saturday. The news of how much longer they will be without power did not sit well with some residents, who posted their displeasure on Sudbury Patch's Facebook page: As of 7 p.m. Monday, 2,458 Sudbury residents were still without power, according to a pdf supplied by NStar. Attempts to reach NStar were unsuccessful. Lincoln-Sudbury Superintendent/Principal Scott Carpenter said the school did have power Monday and freshman orientation was on schedule for today. Sudbury Public Schools Superintendent …

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