Ask Colin

Q: What are your goals if you were to become mayor?

A: Among many things, here are a few items I plan to prioritize as Mayor:

• Increase awareness of government operations and budget allocations through clear, transparent communications from the mayor’s office 

• Increase safety at Haverhill schools by creating a school safety subcommittee with student, teacher, police, school counselor and school committee representation

• Pursue more public and private grant money by hiring a full-time grant writer 

• Designate an diversity and inclusion point person in the administration to ensure diversity throughout city government 

• Designate a liaison to the business community to streamline communication between government and the private sector

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Q: What are you running as? Democrat or Republican?
A: I am a moderate Republican and have been since he registered to vote at 18. I pride myself in bipartisanship and believe in people over political parties. Please check out my website at lepage4mayor.com for more about my campaign. I would great appreciate your vote and support. I am confident I would be the right leader for Haverhill.

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Q: Can you tell me your position on mask and vaccine mandates?
A: Personally, I have been vaccinated and wear a mask indoors when with large groups. I believe we have to promote/provide as many preventative measures as we can so that as a community we can get back to what was "normal" before this pandemic.

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Q: Are you for or against mask and vaccine mandates for schools and jobs, etc?
A: That's a tough question. I don’t have any definitive answer on that. I do believe that people working in the healthcare industry, home health aides, nurses/doctors/EMTs, etc should be mandated to be vaccinated. They are in direct contact with patients, many of which have compromised immune systems, and their health and safety is of the utmost importance. I also feel there are job roles that would require I higher level of that health and safety but I also feel it is safe to say that folks outside of those industries should be allowed the freedoms of making a personal choice. This is a tough question as I believe in free will and giving people that option but I also feel very strongly myself that vaccines help. That is why my family and I made a choice to be vaccinated. As far as masks go - if a mask mandate is in place then it is there to be adhered to. If schools require masks for the safety of children and faculty, and the school has made a decision to require masks, then everyone should adhere to that policy. In the end I think it’s important to follow the evidence. Science evolves and changes. We are constantly learning and finding out new information but if we follow the evidence and proof of what is and isn’t working, that may be a better option.