Ron Carvalho: Who is Michael Strand?

Bedford NH

24 February, 2022

9:35 AM

Description

Much has been made recently of Michael Strand running for Town Council with early campaign signs up, interviews with the Bedford Men's club, even gatherings at the transfer station. He's new to Bedford and "glad to be a part of the community", recently moving here in 2021. He's running for his daughter and in a recent BMC/BCTV interview "to discuss why I'm running for town council, and how I plan to serve Bedford with thoughtfulness, ingenuity, and community pride." He comes across as a young political neophyte, just running to make things better for all Bedford residents, an Independent. He's going to "reach out to voters to learn more about their priorities and concerns." He's also committed to keeping our town strong and addressing tomorrow's challenges with a fiscally responsible strategic approach." He's even a "local business leader" according to his FB Profile…. Something is odd here. How does a resident of one year understand Bedford and our priorities, needs, and issues? Why would anyone consider running for a position in a town they've been a part of for less than a year? According to his Facebook page profile he's a Regional Director at Complete Staffing Solutions, located in Bedford from 2012 on. According to Dun & Bradstreet: "Company Description: Complete Staffing Solutions is located in Bedford, NH, United States and is part of the Employment Services Industry", however a quick look at the CSS Facebook pages reveals 4 employees at the Bedford site in the most recent published photo and Michael Strand isn't in the picture (literally). With a title of "Regional Director" I would think he would be listed on the company website as most companies do, however there are no names on the company website. I checked LinkedIn… nada, nothing on the Complete Staffing Solutions profile indicating Michael Strand was associated with any company leadership positions. According to his LinkedIn profile he worked out of the Burlington MA Office, and the greater Boston Area for the past 10 years, still no pictures posted of him on the company website at either location. The company does work out of a suite in 15 Constitution Dr Ste 1F, however I'm having trouble picturing Mr. Strand facing the same struggles of most small Business Leaders. To be clear he may be a Business Leader (Regional Director) but he is not a business owner. CSS could do a far better job of identifying their leadership on their website one would think, it would be very helpful to know who is actually running the Bedford Office, and as a Business Leader surely Mr. Strand knows the importance of attending morale building events with his employees. As it turns out Mr. Strand is no political neophyte, in fact he was the Peterborough Democratic Town Chair. A little further research shows that not only did he publicly back Bernie Sanders in the 2020 election, but he in turn was also backed by Bernie as an "Activist in the Democratic party. " Why is a Democrat Activist changing towns and running in a local election claiming to be "Independent" in his views? In 1865 there was a term for northerners moving into the south to profit from reconstruction. That same term applies to political candidates who seek election in an area where they have no local connections. Fortunately, according to Mr. Strand's FB page he's a proud backer of the Bedford Youth Football and Cheer Bulldogs. Deep town ties indeed… One is left with the impression Mr. Strand is looking for an opportunity to brighten his political future. With Senator Sander's positions on business, socialism, taxes and woke policies well acknowledged, we need only look at the carnage of America's political scene to see where this narrative ends up. Do we need a carpetbagger from Peterborough taking a position on our Town Council and supporting a far-left wing agenda? I think not… Mr. Strand perhaps a bit of honesty with the citizens of Bedford on who you really are and what you stand for are in order. Are you really here to "listen to citizens priorities and concerns"? Or are you here to impose your party's priorities and concerns on our citizens as we are seeing all over our country? Do the honorable thing and go home to Peterborough. Ron Carvalho, Bedford 03110