Charlie Breitrose, Patch Staff

Email: charlie.breitrose (at) patch.com Phone: 617-272-5575 Hometown: Stanford, Calif. Birthday: March 12

Bio: Charlie worked in newspapers in his home state of California and in the Massachusetts for 14 years before joining Patch. He has made his home in Watertown since 2003.

He enjoys watching all kinds of sports, loves to travel and loves food - both eating and cooking it. Charlie launched the Watertown Patch site in October 2010 and served as editor until June 2013. He now works as a Field Editor at Patch.

Charlie attended the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) as an undergraduate where he studied geology. While in Ann Arbor, he got his start in journalism as a sports writer for the Michigan Daily student paper. He got is master's degree at Indiana University in Bloomington before moving to California to begin his career. After a couple of stints at other publications, he landed a job at the Palo Alto Weekly. In 2001 he moved out to Massachusetts to work for the MetroWest Daily News.

My Beliefs

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.

Politics

I tend to be left of center, politically. I often support the Democrat, but I believe it is important for governments at all levels to watch budget, and should always look for ways to make services more efficient and think carefully before adding taxes or fees.

Religion

I do not practice any religion. I grew up with a Protestant Christian mother and a Jewish father, and my wife has a large Irish Catholic family. 

Local Hot-Button Issues

Watertown has felt the impact of the economic recession, but so far, town government has been able to avoid an override. Though a small town, Watertown has many distinct neighborhoods. Residents are working hard to preserve the character of their neighborhood as Watertown changes and developments go up.