Dear Fellow Scarborough Residents,
I am Michael Turek (Mike), and I am running for a seat on the Scarborough Town Council. I am asking for and would greatly appreciate your support and your vote on Election Day this November.
I am running because it is important to me to give back to the community in which one lives. Although there are many great things in Scarborough, there are several areas where improvement is needed, specifically:
- I envision a prosperous town that enjoys sustainable, affordable growth.
- I believe we presently carry too much debt, almost $100 million.
- I believe we are presently driving out long-time residents and young homeowners, by attempting to raise taxes that are unsustainable and unaffordable.
Although I have no previous experience as a publically elected official, I want to bring fresh ideas and positive solutions to the Town of Scarborough by serving on the Town Council. Now is not the time for business as usual which has resulted in divisive issues that have defined and been ignored by our Town Council in the past several years.
I have been a frequent attendee at Town Council and Board of Education meetings over the past few years often questioning the level of school spending. However I am not anti-school as some erroneously may infer. A strong school system as we have in Scarborough is important to the community in a variety of ways, and I support a balanced and reasonable approach to spending.
All campaigns are expensive and run on money. Money is something I have very little of these days. Most people are in the same situation. Still, I am asking for a donation to my campaign.
My brief write-in campaign for the School Board last year was my first foray into public office. Despite being added as a write-in candidate only weeks before the election, I was able to garner 1,284 write-in votes. One lesson I learned was how expensive these runs can be. To demonstrate, I give the following examples of planned expenses. There always seem to be more that pop up during the campaign:
- Campaign signs for road side: $500+shipping
- Candidate photos for newspapers: $100
- Local newspaper advertisements: $150 each. With only six Fridays available for advertising until Election Day, that totals $1,050 alone!
- Bulk mailing postcards: $0.39 each card (pays for card and postage). This would come to over $1000 to send a card to every household.
- Palm cards to hand out as I meet and greet people: Unknown at this time.
- “Robo” calls, if I decide to use them: Unknown at this time.
As you can see, this totals $2,050! Our goal is to raise $3,500 by October 1st. Your donation of $25, $50 or $100 will help me raise the funds needed to successfully launch this campaign. I humbly ask for your support in helping us rise to this great challenge. I hereby pledge to donate any unused funds or funds raised over my goal of $3,500 to the Parent Teacher Associations in Scarborough, to be spent as they deem most useful to the students and teachers.
I would appreciate any help you may give. Please make checks out to “Turek for Town Council” and mail to 11 Bayberry Lane, Scarborough
Thank you.
Mike
ScarboroughTaxes.com 