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Date: 10/2/2015
AGAWAM – Although Bob Magovern has served on the City Council and as its president, his campaign to return to the council is focused on the future not the past.
“I don’t like to look to the past for what I’ve accomplished, but I look to the future for what can be done,” he said.
Though it’s been a few years since Magovern has served, he said people have been encouraging him to make a run again. This combined with his own “feelings about the community” pushed him to make it official.
Magovern said two of his top priorities are maintaining the quality of the school district and combating the opioid crisis. He would like to start a conversation about creating a youth center in town, which he believes would help both fronts.
“It seems over the years that we don’t have an organized youth system. We have good schools, yes, but we need to do more to channel out of school time for the youth,” Magovern said. “There have been talks about it, but nothing has been galvanized. With the drug problem we have in town, they go hand in hand.”
In addition to this, he said he would form a Drug Prevention Coordinating Committee with members from the community to “define the challenges in our city and develop a response plan.”
Magovern said he would use his previous experience on the council and his background in marketing and business to help create a program to attract businesses to Agawam.
Bringing business into town is a priority for Magovern because the tax burden would be lessened for residents.
“We can’t keep our town strong without developing a tax base other than our residential taxes,” Magovern said. “I want to make sure we can build homes for young families and not price them out of Agawam. Many people want to stay in Agawam with young kids, but they can’t because there isn’t affordable housing.”
While Magovern said he believes he can help the community grow, he said there are many positive projects already happening in town. He pointed to the new track and athletic facilities at the high school and a strong pool of new hires in the school district as moves to strengthen Agawam.
“I want to keep going in the direction we’re going,” Magovern said. “We have a wonderful community as it is right now, but we need to keep building to get it there.”
For more information, contact McGovern at neighbor12@aol.com or 885-0430.