Three years ago you signed a petition to save the last farm in Waltham, Massachusetts. We’re writing with cautiously good news and some advice for taking action at the ballot box tomorrow in Waltham:

1. Thanks to your work, Senator Mike Barrett and Waltham’s state delegation ensured that half of the state’s land—including all of the farmland—was sold to the City of Waltham. The land currently used by the Waltham Fields Community Farm and other local organizations is now city property and negotiations are underway with tenants.

2. Unfortunately, the reason the whole parcel’s open space was not acquired was because of resistance from the City of Waltham, which refuses to protect open space land that it acquires in perpetuity, as required by law.

That’s why these gains are promising, but precarious…

The city is in desperate need of elected leaders who will ensure that our farmland is protected and safeguarded, and that’s where you can take action tomorrow.

We urge voters to protect the farm by voting for

1. Colleen Bradley MacArthur for Waltham City Council At Large

2. Paul Katz in Ward 7

3. George A. Darcy III in Ward 3

There are others who have done good work, but these three open space advocates are champions who have committed to doing the work we need to save and expand farmland in Waltham.