My friend Denise Garrett is a candidate for Westfield Town Council, Ward 2.

I want to share my view about why I support Denise’s candidacy. It has nothing to do with politics or policies and everything to do with who she is as a person and what motivated her to spend her already precious time on this campaign.

I believe that certain personal character attributes are predictive of success in public service roles (or any job for that matter). I also believe that political affiliations and labels are much less likely predictive of success in public service positions.

I have known Denise and her family since our oldest sons began playing baseball together at nine years old. In fact, they still play together today as they enter high school. During that time, I’ve learned a few things about Denise: 1) she says what she means and means what she says; 2) two of her defining characteristics are her work ethic and integrity; and 3) she is the mother of three highly-engaged children in the Westfield community while also finding time to navigate an impressive Wall Street professional career. I believe that Denise’s personal character is highly predictive of great success and impact as a member of the Westfield Town Council.

I have had one meaningful substantive conversation with Denise about this election since she decided to run for the town council. I simply asked her, “Why?”

Denise didn’t hesitate for a second, “Because my family lives here. My friends live here. And I plan on living here for a long time. I care about helping make this a great place to live… for my family, my friends and everyone else in the Westfield community.”

Denise isn’t running for town council because she has a single-minded, personal agenda. She isn’t pursuing a career in politics and using town council as a staging point for such a career. And I know she has plenty of other important things in her life to fill her time.

Denise Garrett is running for town council for the right reasons. Her truly genuine motivation for running this campaign is one of the leading reasons why she has my strong support in our upcoming town council election. I hope that those reading this article residing in Ward 2 who have not already met Denise will find an opportunity to do so before voting. She is spending so much of her invaluable time reaching out to our community and I can only hope that we reciprocate and consider her candidacy carefully (and favorably) prior to the town council election.