Martin Flood
It is with pleasure that I announce my candidacy for Manchester Planning Board in the upcoming election on May 16. There are differences of opinion with regards to the rezoning issues our town is facing. In my opinion, the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Senior Housing articles that have been put forth are defective and need more thoughtful consideration. Before revising or implementing these articles, we also need resolution on the Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA communities (MBTA 40A). The MBTA 40A debate is just starting to take place and I’m concerned that it may have serious consequences to our charming town. No sensible person would go into a deal without doing their due diligence. When elected to the Planning Board, I would vote to hold off on any town articles until the MBTA 40A issue is resolved. At this time, I am NOT in favor of the MBTA 40A as it is written until we can understand financial and infrastructure effects. Let’s get to work on that first!
Don’t be fooled. We were misled by some on the Planning Board who led us to believe that implementing the town articles would help reduce our current affordable housing deficit. Not having affordability is very disturbing to me. The fact that the politicians who wrote the MBTA 40A left “affordability” mandates out of the language, makes you wonder why they use the term, “affordability” so freely when selling their ideas. It’s all talk. In actuality, passing the town articles and the MBTA 40A, will have an opposite effect and ultimately create a larger deficit of affordable housing.
After I spoke out against the DPW curb cut issue at the Fall 2022 town meeting, I received an overwhelmingly positive response from many townsfolk who expressed their agreement with my views. THANK YOU.
You may have noticed the “FURSE-FLOOD” signs around town. I am joining Donna Furse as a candidate for the Planning Board. Currently, there are five out of seven planning board members in favor of pushing these articles through. We hope to join the two current members that have been repeatedly outnumbered to create a more balanced board that better represents the views of town citizens. Our goal is to help ensure that voters are sufficiently educated on rezoning outcomes before voting for any future articles, zoning changes or state MBTA-related mandates and preserve the character of our unique town.
I will make common-sense decisions based on facts, not feelings. I consider myself middle-of-the-road and I am not inclined to be swayed in any way by the State House or others making irreversible changes to our town.
I have worked for the MA Attorney General’s Office, as well as several large companies as an investigator and I am also a licensed private detective. I am well-versed in federal, state, local, healthcare and privacy laws and I am enjoying learning more about local zoning-related issues. I am a U.S. Navy War Veteran and a married father of four. I show up to meetings and I finish what I start. I do speak plainly. Recently, through my leadership on the Friends of Memorial Park Improvement Project, I successfully brought both towns of Manchester and Essex together to beautify and improve Memorial Park and Annie Gosbee Field. After 13 years in town, I am fighting for something that is worth fighting for—an informed, safe, and prosperous Manchester by the Sea.
