As the days grow shorter, the nights a bit colder, we are reminded that election season is here, and we think about what we want for our town. It’s not long before we start thinking about our downtown. As goes the downtown, so goes Westfield. As it grows and prospers, so do our tax revenues and our property values.

We have work ahead of us. We have real estate vacancies, redevelopment efforts underway on the Lord and Taylor site, and opportunities to re-imagine the North Avenue and South Avenue train station lots. We’ll need a town council that can work with developers, landowners, business owners and our residents to create a cohesive plan that acknowledges our town’s finances and respects our town character, while creating appropriate incentives for outside investment. In short, we need an expert in public/private partnerships, or PPPs. Lucky for us, Linda Habgood, who is running for re-election to the Westfield Town Council in Ward 1, is an expert in structuring the PPPs.

Linda has spent most of her professional career advising private firms and government ministries on financing and ownership strategies for investments that benefit all parties involved. She has closed infrastructure transactions worth billions of dollars that resulted in a win-win for the local residents as well as the investors footing the bill to build multi-use real estate developments and hotels as well as large infrastructure projects.

As the town continues working with Hudson’s Bay (the owner of the Lord and Taylor property) and their in-house development arm, Streetworks Development, as well as other professional developers eager to put down roots here, we need Linda Habgood on the town council to make sure that the net result is investment in Westfield that benefits and enhances and expands the existing local economy. Please vote for Linda Habgood for Ward 1.