Politics in Washington are in shambles.  Our State politics are better these days, but even a well-run Augusta can’t solve everything.  Our best hope for progress on many fronts (environmental, civil rights, equality, fairness, education) is at the local level.  I’m running for Town Council again because now I know we can move Yarmouth forward despite the political headwinds in Washington. And we can do it while preserving our strong sense of community, of place.

It’s been an honor to serve the people of Yarmouth from the Town Council. There’s more we can do. I’d like to help. 

1.     Education. 

Yarmouth's commitment to education is legendary and will be critical to preparing 21st Century kids for 21st Century jobs.  The school budget will be under intense pressure as our student population grows larger and more diverse.  (Ask me where my son learned “Happy Birthday” in Arabic.)  With the second half of the $60M school-and-public-safety-bonds tax increase coming next year, we’ll need steady leadership.

I’m particularly proud of our work this year on the Emergency COVID-19 Fund to help our schools re-open. As difficult as this spring has been – i.e. months without in-person learning – the fall will be the real test.  In addition to creating academic and emotional issues, COVID-19 will cost money when it comes time to restart: Facemasks, plexiglas shields, hand sanitizer, cafeteria restrictions, greater cleaning, staggered bus routes, staggered schedules, new in-class and online materials, and professional development.  We will need the Emergency Fund that I helped champion (please vote for it) to respond to COVID-19. 

2.     Supporting Seniors. 

We can and must do more to support our seniors.  From a new senior & community center, increased STAY funding (which I have supported on the Council), a robust aging-in-place program, better access to community services, and creative financing solutions to help seniors keep their homes, Yarmouth can strengthen its mix of senior services.  We hired a senior-focused social worker via the Southern Maine Agency on Aging and it has been a great success. There’s more we can do. (Ask me about the finding a new spot for senior coffee.)

3.     Livability. 

Yarmouth is blessed with wonderful parks and a vibrant Community Services department. We should fully fund both.

We all want to preserve Main Street - keeping it intimate, walkable, human-scaled, and vital.  Our restaurants and shops have been hit hard by COVID-19 but we can all do our part to help them. And looking ahead, from the sprucing up of 317 Main to the new Village Green Park, this is an exciting time to reinvigorate the Village “brand."  (Ask me about grass berms.)

4.     Environment. 

We’ve made incredible progress during my tenure: approving conversion to LED streetlights to lower our carbon footprint and save money, contracting to source the Town’s power from a regional solar farm, and moving for­ward plans to increase recycling at the transfer station. (Ask me about compacting recycling hoppers.  Seriously, ask me.)

We can do more. From municipal composting to a serious look at how we reuse things before they ever enter the waste stream (think: Swap Shop on Steroids), there’s more we can and should do to lower our carbon footprint.

5.     THE Yarmouth Gun Giveback. 

In 2018 I led the Council to vote 7-0 to designate a day when Yarmouth citizens could voluntarily turn in unwanted guns. They did. We collected dozens of guns and 1,000+ rounds of ammunition. Other towns copied the idea. Result: Last year, 500 guns were recycled into garden tools, and more will be next year. This was a non-partisan, bi-partisan, all-in Town effort, and it has worked beautifully.

6.     LOOKING AHEAD. 

There are countless new issues on the horizon. The Black Lives Matter movement is rightly forcing us to ask some hard questions about ourselves; recycling can be better; Main Street needs sprucing up; a new community center is on the horizon.  There are green shoots of possibility even now.

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All of this will call for forward, progressive thinking and the ability to work with others.  I hope I’ve shown that on the Council and I remain committed to doing more and better.

About me. 

I was born in Scranton, PA and went to public schools in Upstate New York (Troy).  We didn't have a lot of money.  Nevertheless I worked hard and I got into Yale, did well, and went on to a graduate program at Oxford University and then Harvard Law School.  I've worked in Bosnia and Boston, doing human rights work and defending GITMO detainees.  I’m a partner at Verrill Dana.  I love being a lawyer. 

Here in Yarmouth, Cam and I started the Yes for Yarmouth (www.yesforyarmouth.com) campaign to support the school budget.  Our kids are active in a hundred community activities.  We love this town.

Yarmouth is a fantastic place to live, work, and play and that’s not by accident.  A lot of thoughtful and forward-looking leaders helped make it this way.  I will carry on that tradition.  I ask for your vote on June 13th.

Warmly,
Tim (for Town Council)