Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Small business owner Rochelle Agneta is again challenging incumbent Ted Bettencourt for the city's top office. PEABODY, MA — A rematch of the 2023 Peabody mayoral election will take place next week when small business owner Rochelle Agneta challenges 14-year incumbent mayor Ted Bettencourt two years after Bettencourt won re-election. Agneta said during a recent Peabody TV interview that she was running a second time because she feels like spending and taxes are too high in the city at a time when she said there is no plan to increase revenue to offset that spending. Peabody Votes 2025: Early In-Person Voting Underway For 2025 Municipal Election "We look to taxes for everything," Agneta said during an interview with Deanne Healey. "We want to spend. We want to buy properties. We want to build buildings. We want to maintain buildings. And, of course, taxes are what you go for. "The problem with Peabody is that we don't have that master plan. We're not thinking about ways to build revenue." Agneta said that bringing the commuter rail to the city, building a performing arts center and potentially building a Peabody historical museum are ways to potentially bring in that revenue. She pointed to Woburn as a similar-sized community that was able to attract a biotech industry that helps offset the resident tax burden and pay for services. "The problem with Peabody is that there is no plan for revenue," Agneta said. "That has to be a priority in Peabody. Everything is money, right? Education, if you want (more) teachers, better programs? Money. Better streets? Money. You want better sidewalks? It's money. "And there are only two ways to get it. Taxes or building a revenue stream." Bettencourt said during his Peabody TV interview that his priorities upon being first elected 14 years ago were to improve the city's infrastructure while keeping tax rates among the lowest on the North Shore. He said that the plan has largely succeeded with new and planned new school buildings, a forthcoming new public safety building, and improved flood control and more businesses downtown, while tax rates have remained relatively low. "I always felt that I had a sense of downtown and what it could be in the future," Bettencourt said. "It was so frustrating. It was just a cut-through to go to Salem. It really was. I felt that it needed some improvement." He said traffic-slowing measures led to increased safety, and flood-mitigation efforts have kept the television from coming to the city each and every major rain event to report on the damage. "There were people who could not make it to my business," he said. "We've made investments and improvements there. So much so that the cameras don't come to Peabody anymore. I don't want to say that our problems are solved forever because that would be a mistake. But we're in a much better position to handle big (storm) events." Bettencourt said that rezoning will be a big topic in the coming yearears as the city needs to open more commercial and residential space downtown and in the Riverwalk area to support the myriad small businesses and attractions that have opened in the city. He added that, while he would also strongly support a commuter rail stop in Peabody, he does not see the statewide support for that, which would be needed, at this time. Bettencourt said weighing the commercial tax rate vs. the residential base remains "a delicate balance" that must be examined each year. "It's a difficult business climate right now as it is for residential," he said. "There are uncertain times right now. Everybody is wary about the future and cautious, and wants to make sure that their money is being handled properly." Early voting in Peabody began this week ahead of Tuesday's municipal election. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
