i am voting for jennifer.

i will not vote for a trojan horse  in donna bronk ,she has fed at the donahue troth and i dont trust her.

Jennifer Petersen responded to a critique of her original answers by Mike Flaherty and elaborated on her Facebook page..

(Mike Flaherty) I have never heard of Ms. Petersen before she announced her candidacy. In Wareham, that is usually a good thing.

If I had to base my view of her solely on this prepared response, I would say that she is polite and polished and might well make a Selectman that Wareham could be proud to have. Indeed, she has the potential to raise the bar higher than even Jane Donahue has with her reasoned professionalism in that position.

I would love to comment on the individual answers she gave, but try as I may, I couldn't because I still don't really know where she stands on the specifics for each.

(Jennifer Petersen) Answer:
I was recently interviewed face to face by Wareham Week in which greater specificity to questions already posed of candidates was the basis. I note this because I have received a lot of feedback regarding the need to provide greater elaboration on some of my answers. Additionally, I now have spoken with the Chief of police and Town Administrator to get first hand information regarding important topics. Thus, I can speak more readily to some questions. Additionally, I believe in effectiveness and efficiency. We should look to other communities and research studies to identify best practices so not to reinvent the wheel. Not that all programs will work as well in our community, but their viability should be explored.

(Mike Flaherty)
Yes, we all know that Wareham's crime rate is higher than the "national average". More relevant though, without even looking, I would wager that it is higher than the state's average. How would she specifically address this beyond "collaboration" and "monitoring"?

(Jennifer Petersen) I believe it is the role of the Chief of Police and others with a criminal justice background and/or experience with working with at risk populations to identify specific strategies to address our crime problem. Collaboration amongst key groups is the key however, because we have to achieve a united front (police officers, non-profit agencies, other state and local entities and general citizenry) working hand in hand to address these issues.

As identified previously I defer to experts such as the National Institute of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice has sponsored and evaluated numerous crime prevention initiatives since the mid 1990’s. In a landmark study--a result of Federal legislation requiting a scientific review of these programs--NIJ published Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, and What’s Promising. The "what works" list is relatively short, but significantly includes desire reduction programs such as having nurses and other health/social work professionals frequently visit and assist infants in troubled homes; provide classes and weekly home visits by teachers for preschoolers in these troubled homes; implement family therapy and parent training for delinquents and at-risk (of becoming delinquent) adolescents; coach at-risk youth in "thinking skills"; and develop drug treatment and vocational training for convicted offenders.
Here are some examples of programs and initiatives that could be successful in Wareham.

1. Chaplain Ride along program. It provides support for the officers to discuss high stress situations and the chaplain is available to the victims on scene. According to chaplains I have spoken with this ride along program has been most successful in situations of domestic abuse.

2. Opportunity reduction programs indicating success involved extra police patrols in high-crime "hot spots" and monitoring of high-risk repeat offenders”.

3. During the introduction of the text a tip program, information was distributed regarding how to recognize if your child is involved in a gang. To build on that I would like to see either the police or any of the many non-profits within our town work collaboratively with the police department to provide additional training to the community around recognizing and reporting suspicious activity to the police. For instance:
Drug house (Bloomington MN – Government Site)
Do you have a drug house in your neighborhood? Here are some things to look for:
Abnormal amount of vehicles and/or pedestrians arriving at the residence.
Visitors who tend to stay at the residence for a short period of time.
Visitors and/or vehicles tend to be the same (repeat visitors....varied frequencies).
Increase in traffic at the residence during the first few days of the month.
Residents seem to have no jobs or means of supporting their lifestyle.
Residents receive frequent deliveries from UPS, Federal Express, etc.
What to report to the Police Department:
Address of the suspected drug house, including a description of the residence.
Known names of the residents.
Vehicle descriptions, including license plate numbers of residents or frequent visitors.
Time of day, day of week, week of month of most frequent visits.
Deliveries? Which companies? Is it on a certain day?

(Mike Flaherty)
Yes, we all know we need a full time police Chief. Does she support the hiring of Chief Stanley or not? If it is a matter of salary, then what does she believe is reasonable? If she doesn't want him at all, then why not? This is too important to dance around.

(Jennifer Petersen) Answer:
There have been notable outcome realized by our police department since the arrival of Chief Stanley.
1. The police department received grant funding and is in the process of updating the communication system/centre. This promotes the officers ability to effectively communicate and respond to fulfil their role to protect and serve.
2. The police department has received certification. It is in the process of accreditation. With any of the accrediting processes it is necessary for the organization (police department) to have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to foster the consistent implementation of the mission of the police force.
3. It was reported that there has been increased training for existing officers including practice opportunities to fire weapons at a local gun club. This assist with not only ensuring our force maintains is proficiency in using their weapons, but is beneficial from a liability stand point.
4. Above all, when speaking with the Chief he spoke of the force as competent, dedicated and willing to serve the people of Wareham. Areas of concerns where more programmatic and not necessarily in the ability of the police force to fulfil their role. This vote of confidence in the overall force demonstrates a collaboration and united entity within this organization.

In short, Chief Stanley has produced successful outcomes and would be a resource to mentor members of the force to assume the role of Chief once he is ready to leave. Additionally, if we were to secure his services it provides consistency in a town administration that has experienced continuous turnover.

Despite these desirable outcomes, there needs to be a steadfast deadline (I think the March 31st date that Chief Stanley has identified should be used) in which a contract will be agreed to by all parties. It is critical that residents of Wareham have resolution to this issue.

I do not believe that at this time, Wareham is in a place to hire a chief with little or no experience and having to learn on the job. If Chief Stanley can not make that commitment and/or we can not afford him, then we need to move on and open of the search to other applicants throughout Massachusetts.

As we strive to make progress towards the future it would be beneficial for the town administrator to develop a comprehensive job description with a salary range that is commensurate to the responsibilities for a town with our crime index, liaison needs to address at risk groups, and competitive with surrounding communities with similar demographics.

(Mike Flaherty)
Yes, we all want to see affordable housing for seniors. However, Ms. Petersen doesn't believe that Westfield "will achieve the affordability threshold to meet the needs of our seniors". It would be helpful if Ms. Petersen described what she thought that threshold is.

(Jennifer Petersen) Answer:
In actuality I did not express that I did not believe it would not meet the affordability threshold, I stated I was not sure if it would. By this I mean I do not know the exact specifications of the project. There is a wide range of affordability measures. As we have seen with recent affordable housing initiatives in town, is the project going to offer units that are for elders with moderate income (80% of median – approx- $35,000/yr or low income. I understand it is planned to have units at far below market rate, but would these meet the needs of our elders living on Social Security.
One program in Massachusetts is the Elder 80/20: Supportive Housing for Seniors:
Mass Housing has introduced the Elder 80/20 Program in order to expand the continuum of housing and service options for seniors. Developments financed through Elder 80/20 will serve elders who wish to live in independent rental apartments with on-site access to supportive services as needed. This housing option fills a niche between conventional elderly housing without services and the full-service personal care programs available in assisted living developments financed through the Elder CHOICE program. A minimum of 20% of the units in an Elder 80/20 development must be reserved for low-income occupancy. There is an additional caveat that the developer completes the necessary the Registration Form for Age Restricted Housing to be completed to set the age requirement to set standards around eligibility.
Thus, as stated before I can not fully respond to this question until the RFP is fully developed.

(Mike Flaherty)
Yes, we all know that the Wareham School system's "reputation is compromised amongst parents, external organizations and the general citizenry of Wareham." Ms. Petersen goes on to say we need to "support the development of new programs or alternative teaching methodologies to better meet the learning styles and preferences of our children." That's great, but which "alternatives" does she support? For example, there is now a push to implement an alternative called "Response to Intervantion" in the Wareham schools. Does she support it or not? And frankly, what can she do as a selectman to support any teaching methodology when we are told over and over again that the school department is separate from the BOS.

(Jennifer Petersen) Answer: In regards to the “Response to Intervention”, this term from my understanding relates to areas needing improvement that are identified by the Department of Education. These are usually areas that the school is underperforming and needs to address to meet the educational standards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
If there is another program with that title within the educational environment, I am not familiar.

In regards to developing new programs or alternative teaching methodologies, an example could include hands on learning. For instance, many schools have developed outdoor classrooms for children to learn through actual experience versus books.
I know that the BOS role does not involve the operation of the school system. However, when it comes to collaboration, the entire administration of the town for all services must work collaboratively to create a unified team working to achieved agreed upon universal goals.

(Mike Flaherty) Whith regard to the experience she has to be a Selectman her response was, "Twenty-two years of experience in consumer needs analysis, program and policy development, and fiscal management are reasons she is qualified for the position on the board."

Why does she refer to herself in the third person? Did someone else write this for her? If so, then is it her ghost writer who is articulate and who we should be directing our questions to? Perhaps this is just a cut/paste typo, but she should explain this.

(Jennifer Petersen) Answer:
I wrote this statement originally for my campaign committee to use when representing my qualifications to voters. I chose to cut and copy into my response to Questions for the Candidates and missed that third party reference in the editing of the document. I wish I had an editor to assist me with responding to questions for these would be more timely and free of typos and grammatical errors.

Again, thank you for taking the time to ask questions that may help us to spark interest in the current election by more residents of Wareham.

(Mike Flaherty)
I notice on Wareham Week that Ms. Petersen currently works as a quality enhancement specialist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It would be helpful to know what other industries she has worked in (if any) that helped shape her experiences.

(Jennifer Petersen) Answer:
Current and previous employment responsibilities:

Responsible for evaluating and licensing providers that contract with the Commonwealth of MA utilizing a data driven outcome based system. Critical to this is the ability to interpret and implement established standards espoused in the DDS regulations and Mass General Laws, service principles, goals and as mandated in complex state and federal regulations, policies and procedures.
Excel in the provision of technical assistance to community-based service providers regarding regulatory compliance, best practices and accessing other resources such as other state agencies and benefit programs.
Member of the statewide interdisciplinary DDS strategic planning committee.
Southeastern representative in the development and expansion of the statewide database system used for maintaining essential data for the execution of the quality management system and to serve as a source of information for federal compliance (CMS).
Senior management team member responsible for the overall administration of all community-based residential services offered by the organization. This entailed the administration of all programmatic operations, including policy development and evaluation to ensure the provision of quality services.
Fiscal and human resource management was also integral responsibilities of this position.
Effectively interpreted and implemented the state regulations and policies to meet licensing requirements. Initiated and executed feedback mechanisms from key stakeholders for program evaluation and development and budget negotiations.
Developed and executed alternative housing options, program evaluation systems and new services.

Jennifer Petersen Facebook Page

what really bothers me the GRANTS  are not a reflection of Stanley.... there were written & submitted NOT by him.... give credit where credit is due(Wallace)..

the CERTIFICATION process was started BEFORE Stanley got here again give credit where credit is due(Fhilman)

I think she has been "over-trained".

Speak in language that the average citizen will understand. Don't patronize voters if you want their support. If you are asked a question, give an answer that everyone can understand.

I don't know how she comes across in public, but a professorial candidate will almost always lose on a local level.

Relate to the average person. Those are the votes that count.

jennifer let your hair down a little , talk to the average folks ,and give us some red meat, jayne and brenda are the worst thongs to happen to wareham ,we cant afford stanley , westfild was  supposed to be in recreation ,yes we need affordable housing but not at westfild  those are my beliefs ,what are yours.