Dear Friend,
When I was born in Falmouth in 2000, Cape Cod's median age was 44 and the average home cost $192,220. Today, the median age is 57, and a single-family home costs over $800,000.
More than three-quarters of my graduating class at Falmouth High School has moved off-Cape, most of them never to return. This isn't how it has to be.
**That's why I'm running for Barnstable County Commissioner. **
Growing up as the son of refugees, I learned not to take our opportunities for granted. I've spent my career in service—from running the microphone at Town Meeting as a kid at Lawrence School, to serving as Deputy Legislative Director to State Senator Julian Cyr, and leading a platoon in Iraq as an Infantry Officer in the Massachusetts National Guard.
Now, as Deputy Speaker of the Barnstable County Assembly, I see how we can do more. In the 1980s, while the rest of Massachusetts eliminated county governments, we kept ours to address regional challenges. **But 47 years later, most Cape Codders don't even know we have a County government.**
It's time to change that. If elected Commissioner, I'll get to work on day one:
- Providing income-based **loan forgiveness for sewer and septic upgrades**, so retirees and working families don't lose their homes while we protect our environment
- Creating a transfer fee on high-value real estate to **raise up to $56 million annually for housing**—a plan I've already championed in the Assembly
- Expanding **Pre-K funding Cape-wide** through County matching programs.
- Developing **high-speed fiber internet across all fifteen towns**.
[ I'll sign your nomination papers to get you on the ballot!](dangessen.com/join)
[ I want to donate!]([link removed])
We're past the point of tinkering around the edges. Our young people deserve to build lives here. Our working families deserve homes they can afford. Our retirees deserve to stay in the communities they've built.
As we work to build this grassroots effort, **every signature, door-knock, and dollar is going to make a difference.** I hope I can count on your support.
Yours,
Dan Gessen
