Election 2018 Information

Education Background: MS Computer Science – Naval Post Graduate School; BA Mathematics, Physics – St. Olaf College; Navy Nuclear Power Trained

Profession: Mathematics Professor; Retired Navy Commander

Years in Tiverton: 9

Reason for Living in Tiverton: Tiverton is a great rural location, with a small town feel.  I moved here because of its closeness to specific marinas and waterways, but it offers easy access to the areas of Newport, southern Mass, and into Providence.  The town is quiet and out of the way.

Relevant Experience: During my career as a Naval Officer, I gained experience managing a large number of diversely skilled people.  I worked with and on a multitude of committees and working groups, among people with vastly different personalities and beliefs, usually under timeline pressures, to develop recommendations, plans of actions, and proposals. This often requiring significant compromise of personal opinions – but always with the goal that the job needed to get done the best it could.

At Navy Headquarters, I created point papers and opinion statements, providing summary briefs on multi-billion-dollar projects to the Navy department leaders in charge of requirements analysis, budgeting, and resources, along with the VCNO.  I am accustomed to reviewing long and complicated documents, liaising with a variety of individuals to edit, alter, or simply agree on the content of information being presented.

As a Navy Nuclear Power Engineer, I am conversant in areas of electrical, mechanical, electronic, and fluid systems.  I also speak English.

I have been an instructor and professor of Mathematics for 15 years, primarily dealing with students who come from diverse backgrounds and who present with some challenge they need to overcome because of a social, economic, or academic deficiency, often accompanied with a cultural gap.  Not that people on the budget committee or the town managers would be like my students… just that numbers and challenges don't scare me.

I love animals, boats, children, leisure activities, and most any weather, so if tensions rise in a meeting, there is always something else we can talk about.

Watching the happenings within local Tiverton government is often confusing and disheartening – electors supporting officials whose records are abysmal or carrying out character assassinations on people who they don’t know; neighbors avoiding any local government involvement for fear of spiteful repercussions; surrounding communities laughing at Tiverton because of it.

Why would anyone want to volunteer for office and expose themselves to the bad actors of our community?  Why would I?

I simply believe that any local elected position is about serving the community, and wanting to volunteer time and energy.  I served 24 yrs in the military, and am a retired Navy Commander.  I currently serve (15 yrs) as a Mathematics teacher.

I don’t have a personal agenda.  I don’t believe that the BC’s job is to enact public policy. Besides, I would never vote on any issue that might remotely be perceived as a conflict of interest.

I DO believe that townspeople have a right to know, honestly and transparently, without threats and hidden agendas, the benefits and costs of any budgetary option laid before them – and, if elected to the BC, I hope that I could help improve that in Tiverton’s process.

I have been waiting for the last several months for the Tiverton Town Council (TC) to provide true motivational logic behind their proposal to keep our Casino Revenue restricted in its use, exclusively under TC control, and exempt from the normal annual budget review and
referendum process.

Instead, I have witnessed one town councilor openly express personal disdain for the Financial Town Referendum (FTR), indicating that his preference would be that the TC make all budget decisions, without approval from those they serve and tax. Other councilors have oddly argued that a pot of money (specifically the casino revenue) exclusively controlled by the TC is required in order to fund essential projects that the TC, but not the voters, would approve. The underlying result, of course, would be the Tiverton public trusting the TC (and their wisdom?) to appropriately spend millions of annual revenue outside of the normal budget process and safeguards; without being scrutinized, prioritized and potentially eliminated by the independent and voter selected Budget Committee; and without any approval by the voters. That is, the TC would be unleashed to obligate taxpayers to finance anything of the TC choosing with no public vote.

Don’t let the TC fool you, the current Tiverton budget process is more than flexible enough to effectively include all of the examples the TC has used as excuses for why they want control over millions in expected casino revenue. Whether financing essential capital improvement, infrastructure repair, or an initiative for long term debt reduction, the current process can support it – and allows voters to determine if it’s in our best interest.

In fact, keeping all revenue within the town’s general fund not only provides its most flexible use, it allows a more equal footing to compare and prioritize spending options, and ultimately puts the choice of spending benefits vs. cost to voters. Remember, the casino revenue is NOT “extra spending money” – it’s simply revenue that was meant to reduce a budget deficit (approaching $40M) which taxpayers are asked to pay each year.

The TC’s submissions for Town Charter changes will create a TC controlled casino revenue “slush fund” and diminish voter choice in the FTR. Whether through spite, arrogance, or ignorance of the current process, the TC’s charter proposals are not rooted in logic, or wisdom, or service in the best interest of the people of Tiverton. These changes bypass the intent and power of our current budget process.

There is a need for change in Tiverton, but not in the budget process or control of revenue; rather, in a change of TC members who have forgotten whom they serve.