(one three-year seat)
Years living in town: 11
Previous or current elected office held: None. Have been attending the Select Board meetings going on 3 years.
Other Qualifications: 3 years active service in the military. 47 years industrial experience spanning R&D to plant management and budget control.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them: 1) Taxes: make decisions based on needs or wants. Paving gravel roads is a want. Repairing or replacing deficient bridges is a need. 2) Bring additional businesses/light manufacturing to Wilton by contacting expanding companies directly to consider Wilton as a location.
Years living in town: 16
Previous or current elected office held: I am the current Select Board chair and a Wilton water commissioner. I currently represent Wilton as well as Lyndeborough, Greenville, and Francestown in the State Legislature. I am also chair of the Hillsborough County delegation and Executive Committee.
Other qualifications: I think my legislative experience – this is my 4th term as a State Rep – and my time serving in town offices makes me better as a selectman. Understanding the interactions between Wilton and state and federal law ensures that we follow the rules and take advantage of financial and other assistance available to us.
I spent 30 years in the computer industry prior to my political career, mostly as a senior executive. Learning how to manage individuals and teams, doing strategic planning, and being responsible for both IT and infrastructure have all helped me to do my job as a selectman.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
There are many issues facing the Select Board in Wilton currently, and they are complex and multi-faceted. One key issue is Wilton’s emergency services. We have great staff and volunteers serving to town’s needs for ambulance services, fire, and police. It’s the job of the Select Board to manage the cost to taxpayers of our system. One big issue right now is emergency dispatch. We are currently partners in a dispatch network with Milford and Mont Vernon. However, Milford has a warrant article on the ballot that would allow them to build a new standalone system. If that passes, Wilton would be allowed to join, but only as a customer, not a partner, and for a steep price – more than $1 million. We need to do careful research, consider all our options and make the best choice for the long term.
Wilton’s share of costs and operation of our four-town ambulance service is also an issue. Customer service is top-notch, but we need to ensure that Wilton taxpayers are paying their fair share with careful financial management. We are in need of a new Fire Chief, and there is a warrant that would make that a full-time paid position. I look forward to that discussion at Town Meeting.
The second important issue is town infrastructure. We have a great Highway Department that keeps the roads plowed and passable, but we have issues that go beyond what they can do. We currently have four bridges that need repair. Three are on the state Red List. One of these we voted to fund at the 2016 Town Meeting, but work has not started yet. Navigating the process with the state DOT and contractors is complex. Getting the work done on all these bridges without straining the town’s finances will take close management, knowledge of the rules, and interaction with state officials. We are also now part of the EPA’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer program, which requires us to strictly control storm water runoff into our rivers and streams. This has the potential to be very expensive for Wilton in the future, and again needs to be carefully managed, with understanding of those laws and process.
The town’s greatest risk is not paying attention, because any of these projects could be an issue if we don’t.