Harry (Mo) Greene, Candidate for Oro Valley Town Council
Among his many positions in education and medicine, Harry Greene’s extensive career includes three years of medical residency and Chief Medical Resident at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; Assistant Dean of Students at Westminster College; Vice Chairman of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts; and right here at the University of Arizona, he served as Associate Professor, Vice Chairman Of Medicine and Head of Primary Care. Harry has also served on the boards of the Massachusetts Medical Society, American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge, Central New England College, and Central New England Health Plan.
Harry has filled the role of both author and publisher throughout his career. His books include “Introduction to Clinical Medicine,” “Primary Care Medicine,” “Algorithmic Approach to Medicine,” and “Current Therapy in Adult Medicine,” to name a few. In addition to publishing many medical papers and reports, including the “Morbidity and Mortality Report” for the CDC, he developed the New England Journal of Medicine Publishing Group and served as publisher of the New England Journal of Medicine. He has also been involved with writing award-winning legislation—the Children’s Health Care Bill—in partnership with Charles Baker and John McDonough.
Harry also places great value on volunteerism and community involvement. He assisted with the establishment of the first Ronald McDonald House in Brookline, MA; and was founder of the first Hope Lodge in MA (a home for cancer patients and their families during prolonged radiation/chemotherapy treatments), for which he received an awardfrom the American Cancer Society. He served as a physician volunteer at the Worcester Free Health Care Clinic. Locally, he has been a member of the Naranja Park Planning Committee.
In addition to his work in the field of medicine, Harry is an accomplished artist and strong supporter of the arts. He enjoys painting oil portraits, teaches anatomy for artists and has helped implement several art exhibit programs, such as Arts in the Park, Ventana Art Exhibit and the Overlook Art Exhibit. Harry has also served in leadership roles in the arts community, including President of the Southern Arizona Arts Guild, and Chair of the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council (now SAACA).
Harry “Mo” Greene is married to Linda Clark Greene, RN. They have three children: Harry, Lt. Commander in the Coast Guard; Michelle Moynihan, RN, and Jennifer Reynoso, RN. They also have five grandchildren.
People come to OV because it’s an excellent place to live and that accounts for its growth. For young families we need managed growth of new homes and apartments. For seniors we need smaller units for retiring seniors. When they want to downsize, places like All Seasons, Splendido, Hallmark and La Posada offer a great alternative. From these facilities as people begin to age they will need rehab centers and memory care, like Brookdale, and ultimately compassionate hospice care, like Kanmar.
We have the good fortune of having one of the best town engineers in Paul Keesler and his staff who are constantly evaluating and upgrading our roads, utilities, and town property, with an eye to the future as we grow. When I first joined the Council, we created a strategic leadership plan. “Goal#4C” deals with this issue, and supports investments and strategies that ensure the effective utilization of the Town’s resources and infrastructure.
Although local sales tax collections have been at a historic high (8.8% increase), expenses of all types have eclipsed this figure, causing a need to tighten the budget wherever possible so that it does not affect the crucial public services. Doing everything we can to support our businesses, collections from online transactions, work closely with the Chamber of Commerce to encourage more businesses and speed up the development of the OV Marketplace. Utilize solar parking lot coverage to decrease our electrical cost while providing shade and gaining access to federal grants.
My own experience from trimming budgets came from publishing the New England Journal of Medicine and when printing and paper supplies increased, I would meet with my department heads and ask them to separate out the wants and the needs from their budgets. The good news is we have good department heads and the Town Manager can ask them to trim their respective budgets as they know what is essential and what can wait for another time. Ultimately it will be my responsibility to exercise my best judgment and make cuts to balance the budget accordingly.
There have been a few issues in which I voted with the Minority. The first issue was fully funding the PSPRS, which the Council approved, so far it’s working out. Taking on the future responsibility for Vistoso Trails without having a good idea of the overall cost and needs has created a bit of a fiscal challenge. The idea of revegetating a golf course back to its original form, with all the maintenance costs associated and no revenue is a challenge now and will be into the future. By and large we are fiscally responsible and trying to budget the town the way I would budget my own finances.
I am currently and have been for some time a member of the OV Historical Society. The Town has a living Memorial in Steam Pump Ranch and I will do everything I can to maintain and improve and expand its aesthetic appeal to the public.A choice between a decision that might damage OV’s unique identity in order to serve some other desire. I would gather all the facts on both sides and make a decision that I felt was best for the Town. Together, the Council crafted our concern for this issue, in our Strategic Plan:
#5A-Ensure quality development with integrated architecture and natural open space, while maintaining and enhancing the character of our community.
Frankly I think we have the best public safety record in the state, led by Chief Kara Riley and her able department heads. I would work to keep our officers’ salaries at a competitive level in order to retain them and would support any kind of health or mental health requests from the force. At some point we will need a new police station or at least a way to grow our current station and that should be part of the capital expenditure for the future. In the strategic plan, section #3A is as follows:
We will support strategies that ensure Oro Valley’s standing as one of (if not the best) safest communities in Arizona.
Certainly we must continue to look at all aspects of water conservation. We need to work under the guidance of water manager leader, Peter Abraham, who is one of the most knowledgeable individuals regarding water in the state. Certainly we must conserve in every possible way. We have been using “Water Smart” and we need to expand it from the current 1/3rd of users to the remaining water customers. We need to be cautious to not destroy our way of life by eliminating golf courses(which has brought people to the region), sports fields, and any other family activities, such as swimming pools which enhance life in the desert. In addition to conserving, we need to look for new sources of water. My personal opinion, although expensive, desalination may be the answer, bringing desalinated water from the Pacific or the Coast of California to the Central Arizona Project, would provide endless water. Our strategic plan mandates that we support investments and strategies that will deliver a safe, reliable, and sustainable water supply that meets the long term needs of our community.
We have just finished a ten year planning project for which 4,300 comments have been collected on-line and in person. That volume has increased by 50% over the previous ten year plan. Those suggestions will be collated and prioritized and put into a ten year action plan for the voters to weigh in on. Out of that information we will craft a new strategic plan.
In addition to the numerous websites that are available for detailed financial information, I like the idea put forth by candidate Mary Murphy of offering frequent Council on The Corner events so that residents can get a chance to express their opinions, comment on pending legislation, sharing what is great about OV and what needs attention. By working closely with the Town Manager, the staff of “Ask Oro Valley” and the appropriate department heads. We can all work together to make a great Town, even better!
We want to continue to encourage intelligent growth by businesses’ ability to prosper. We want to seek new businesses and manufacturing. And fighting fiercely to protect and enhance our parks and recreation areas. “Goal #1A” of the strategic plan has us implementing actions to support and assist local (and regional) businesses by helping to navigate the current and projected economic conditions.
We need to encourage dialogue between and among our neighboring communities. We need to work together on the issues of water availability, transportation, development and other common resources. Much of this is found is done initially by a person to person approach. Using this method, communication is always open and available for tackling the issues common to all.
