Boston Globe picks up confirmation story

In a story on Boston.com Jessica Rudis outlines Denise's candidacy for State Rep.

Click here for the whole story.

Needham Patch: Garlick Running for State Rep., Confirms Campaign Director

Patch.com has the story on Denise's confirming her candidacy by submitting signatures collected in Needham, Dover and Medfield.

Click here to read all about it!

Press Release: Garlick Confirms Candidacy for Mass. House of Representatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2010

Denise Garlick Confirms Candidacy for Massachusetts House of Representatives

Submitted nomination signatures for 13^th Norfolk District

NEEDHAM - Needham Selectwoman Denise Garlick confirmed her candidacy this week for the Democratic nomination for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 13^th Norfolk District. She submitted signatures collected from voters in Needham, Dover and Medfield. Garlick, a Registered Nurse and lifelong Democrat, pledged to provide positive leadership and produce effective results for the members of her district and the Commonwealth.

Garlick said, "I will protect the vital interests of the members of this district at the state level during these challenging times. From many conversations with voters in all three communities and as a working nurse and elected official, I am acutely aware of the demands faced by our families, seniors and businesses."

She also pointed to her record during an impactful tenure on the Board of Selectmen.

"I have produced results that count through compassionate leadership and coalition building. I will bring my skills and energy to the House of Representatives to work every day for the residents of Needham, Dover and Medfield."

Elected to the Board of Selectmen in 2008, Garlick immediately set to work on Needham's Town Hall renovation project. Denise's independent voice on the Board of Selectmen in a speech at Needham's Town Meeting altered the course of the project, leading to a design overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting and currently under construction in Needham's historic Town Common.

Currently, she serves as co-chair of Needham's Senior Center Exploratory Committee, spearheading a project that languished on the town's to-do list for more than a decade. That committee has made great progress: Needham's Town Meeting approved funding in November for a feasibility study, keeping the project on schedule and on budget.

She also represents the Board of Selectmen on the Council of Economic Advisors and is working with business and civic leaders to revitalize the New England Business Center at Route 128 and transform it into a powerful engine for economic growth.

Prior to joining the Board of Selectmen, Garlick was Chairman of the Needham Board of Health and a veteran Town Meeting Member. She founded and served as Co-Chairman of the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention, which supports and strengthens the community. It currently serves as a model for community coalitions throughout the state.

Garlick's record as an advocate and leader stretches beyond her work in Needham. She is a working Registered Nurse and served as President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, an organization with 23,000 members. In this capacity, she led a national campaign to educate workers about health and safety issues.

The Democratic Primary will be held on September 14, 2010.

Denise and her husband Russell are 22-year residents of Needham, where they raised their four children: Monica, Elizabeth, Alex and Andrew.

For more information on Denise and her campaign, please visit www.DeniseGarlick.com.

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Needham Times OP-ED: Needham Senior Center update

By Denise Garlick and Jim Healy, Co-Chairs of the Needham Senior Center Exploratory Committee.

The Senior Center Exploratory Committee would like to take the opportunity to update the community on the progress of the evaluation of sites for the construction of a new senior center. The SCEC was created by the Board of Selectmen to make recommendations to the selectmen on the appropriate location, size and design, projected cost and other matters related to the construction of a new facility to house our existing senior center.

The committee actively explored the types of senior centers that are provided in communities across the commonwealth, and members have toured numerous centers. The committee has also evaluated the pros/cons of all available town-owned land, and explored opportunities for purchase of private property, issuing two requests for proposals for property acquisition. The committee distributed and analyzed a community survey document, held three public hearings and testified at a public hearing conducted by the Board of Selectmen.

Last fall, the SCEC determined that it had progressed to a point in its evaluation of potential sites where funding for professional-level analysis and recommendation was required. At the Nov. 2 Special Town Meeting, the town appropriated approximately $49,091 for the purpose of conducting a feasibility study under the jurisdiction of the Permanent Public Building Committee.  

At its meeting on Dec. 22, the Board of Selectmen voted to accept and approve the recommendations of the Senior Center Exploratory Committee for focused feasibility studies by the Permanent Public Building Committee with respect to Rosemary Hill; Greene’s Field, with or without inclusion of the Stephen Palmer site, provided that it be a consideration that utilization of the Stephen Palmer site would have no material negative impact on the timeline; and Ridge Hill. The Board of Selectmen also voted to consider any further recommendations by the SCEC for other sites that may be identified through an Request for Proposals process, although neither of the solicitations resulted in a response. 

The board voted to designate SCEC Co-Chairwoman Denise Garlick and Council on Aging Board member Colleen Schaller to serve as the “User Agency Representatives” on the Permanent Public Building Committee for the feasibility study. The Building Committee selected the services of a design firm — Bargman, Hendrie + Archetype, to conduct the study. BH+A is in the process of researching legal and zoning restrictions; topographical and environmental challenges; traffic, congestion and site access concerns; availability of utilities; adjacencies; and other site data criteria. 

The SCEC has continued to meet to follow the progress of the designer and the Building Committee, and to offer feedback during the process.

The SCEC remains committed to achieving community consensus on the preferred option for construction of the new senior center in time for an appropriation for design funds at the November Special Town Meeting. BH+A will make a presentation to the Building Committee at a special meeting for that purpose in late April., at the Needham Public Library in the Community Room. 

Read the whole article here. 

Needham Times: January 28

Excerpt: With Harkins’ seat likely up for grabs as she eyes a state Senate run, Needham Selectman Jerry Wasserman and Selectwoman Denise Garlick, both Democrats, announced they will run for Harkins’ seat.

Read the full article here.

Needham Times: January 20

"Needham Selectwoman Denise Garlick also plans to run for state Rep. Harkins' seat"

Click here to read the full article


By Steve Ryan


NEEDHAM - Needham Selectwoman Denise Garlick  said she also plans to run for Rep. Lida Harkins' seat. Harkins declared on Jan. 20 that she is running for Sen. Scott Brown's state Senate seat.

"I am a known leader with a proven record of positive change in my hometown on issues that range from co-founding the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention to representing the Selectman on the Needham Council of Economic Advisors," Garlick said in a statement.

Garlick would be up for reelection to the Board of Selectmen in April 2011. She has served on the Board of Selectmen for two years. A registered nurse, she was also a past chairwoman of the Needham Board of Health. She was also past president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Needham Opportunities Inc. She was also heavily involved with the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention.

"As a working Registered Nurse I have been a strong advocate, at the state and national level, for the health and safety of patients and nurses," Garlick said. "I pledge to bring my knowledge and skills to address the complicated issues which strain the resources and finances of the district as well as the entire state. These issues impact education, our seniors and our business community. I welcome the opportunity to meet the many citizens of our district and earn their vote."

Memorial Day 2009: Denise Garlick's Remarks

These remarks were delivered at the Needham Cemetery on May 25. 2009 by Denise Garlick.

Memorial Day.com tells us that in the history of the United States more than 35 million men and women have answered the call to arms. In the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And countless unnamed military engagements. Many came from Needham. They walked the streets we walk, sat in the schoolhouse or Emery Grover building when it was a High School, or cruised down Great Plain Avenue. They loved and were loved by their families, they laughed with their friends, prayed in our churches and they dreamed their own special dream. Some Needham soldiers and more than half a million others never came home. Some died in battle, others in captivity; all died too soon.

Recent military action in Afghanistan and Iraq has offered fresh reminders of the human reality of war: ordinary men and women leaving their homes and families and all they know- to risk their lives for an ideal of honor or duty.
People of patriotism and goodwill may debate the merits of any given war, police action, or humanitarian mission. But there should be no debate about our debt to our fellow Needham residents and the hundreds of thousands of our American citizens who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives- heeding the nation's call to service.

So today we pause- in what we consider our busy lives-and express our acknowledgement and our gratitude.
But what truly matters is that we know and understand the meaning of this great sacrifice and that we honor the lives of these Needham servicemen and women through our daily actions. Pause for a moment-yes- but live so that we daily acknowledge, earn and value all that these lives have sacrificed to preserve, promote and protect.
Our soldiers do not die- but live on in us.
I have adapted the poem- "Do not stand by my grave and weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye.

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am the American Flag that snaps in the wind

I am the anthem that rings out in the school room, the Town Meeting, the ballpark

I am the voice that registers to vote

I am the summons to jury duty

When you stand on the street corner and lament the local politician; or blame the state legislator or question the President

I am the reason your voice is free

I am the possible dream of the poor child who wants to be a scientist, an astronaut a governor

I am the spirit that rebuilds America time and time again.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I do not die.