A Letter To Our New Constituents

Dear Constituents,

Welcome to the 18th Essex District.

As you know, several new neighborhoods have been newly added to the 18th Essex District for State Representative. The new district currently consists of precincts 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in Andover, precinct 1 in Boxford, precincts 6, 7, and 8 in North Andover, and precincts 3 and 3A in Tewksbury. I am currently serving as State Representative for the 18th Essex district, and I look forward to meeting you and serving as your Representative in the future.

My family lives in Andover and together we operate a small business in Tewksbury. You may have seen our flower and ice cream shop called Dandi-Lyons. My wife Bernadette came up with the name, combining our family name with that of the bright yellow lawn flower. Along with our other dedicated employees, my wife and I and our two teenage sons work in the store.

As homeowners and small business people, we understand the importance of a good economy in producing a strong environment for job creation. I entered the political arena because of the dissatisfaction with the way our single-party dominated state government was failing to create jobs or encourage small businesses. Under the thumb of one party, Beacon Hill was raising taxes, cutting local aid, and driving jobs and businesses out of the Merrimack Valley and across the border into New Hampshire.

As a husband, father and homeowner who works in a small business, I decided to run for office and try to fight business as usual on Beacon Hill. I was elected to represent the 18th Essex District in 2010 and I have been working with other reform Republicans to change state government. My political platform has remained strong and consistent:

5-5-5 Tax Rollback – Roll back the Beacon Hill tax hikes of the income, sales and meals taxes to the 5% level.

Local Aid – Increase Local Aid to fund vital town services, while controlling property taxes and preserving Proposition 2 1/2.

Reform and Transparency - Stop the continuing abuse of taxpayer dollars by the out-of-control political bureaucrats on Beacon Hill.

This is hard work. We reform Republican Representatives have started to bring balance to the single-party monopoly of state government. We have a long, long way to go to complete the job, but it’s a start.

I look forward to meeting with you and talking about those things that matter most to your family and neighborhood. In the coming months I will be campaigning door-to-door throughout the district. I hope you have a few minutes to spend with me so we can work together to improve the future outlook for all of us.

Once again, welcome to the new 18th Essex. Thank you for your time.

Best wishes,

Jim Lyons