Role of Government
There are some issues that I have specific ideas for, and I’m eager to make those ideas happen.
In other cases, though, I’ll have to decide where I stand based on my vision for Brunswick and my beliefs about what local governments should and shouldn’t do. So, I owe you an explanation of those beliefs.
In general, I think local governments should do five things:
Maintain
The most important task of any local government is to keep what we already have in working order.
Even if we may not have everything we want right now, life only gets worse if the things we rely on every day start breaking down.
Maintenance includes the upkeep of things like roads, sidewalks, and our water and sewer system. It also includes public services like making sure the trash and recycling get picked up on time and that the roads get plowed when it snows. And though we may not think of it as maintenance, it also includes things like keeping our streets safe and our parks clean.
Even if we may not have everything we want right now, life only gets worse if the things we rely on every day start breaking down.
We citizens take these things for granted a lot of the time, and it’s good when we can do that. It means the city government is doing its job. If I make it onto the city government, I’ll do mine.
Build
Another important task of local government is to build new public infrastructure when we need it.
It’s particularly important when a town is growing, like Brunswick is.
The purpose of building something may be to remove a hazard, connect a new part of town, or just make Brunswick an easier or more pleasant place to live. Public infrastructure could include more sidewalks, a bridge over the railroad tracks, parking lots, bike paths, or even a bus route.
There are two things to keep in mind about building, though.
Before I vote to go ahead with projects, I need to know that we can afford them.
First, it’s easy to come up with ideas, but ideas eventually cost money to implement. You’ll see in here that I have my fair share of ideas. Before I vote to go ahead with them, I need to know that we can afford them. Local governments can’t borrow recklessly.
Second, it’s important not to build more than we can maintain. Everything has two costs: the cost of building it and the cost of maintaining it. We need to be confident we can meet that second cost long into the future.
But if we are sure of those things, then let’s get after it and get it built. If I vote to build something, I’ll stay on it to make sure it gets done.
Plan
A city can’t maintain or build successfully unless it plans wisely.
Good planning is what lets a local government set the pace of growth so that a city doesn’t sprawl out of control. Careful zoning helps ensure that larger buildings and other types of development go where they’re least disruptive.
Brunswick’s Planning & Zoning Department, Planning Commission, and Board of Appeals take specific projects through the approvals process and make sure they are in compliance with local zoning rules and state law. The City Council is responsible for ensuring that Brunswick’s planning processes and zoning rules are accountable to the public by crafting and amending the ordinances that govern them.
That responsibility will be particularly important in the next few years.
That responsibility will be particularly important in the next few years. The Mayor and Council approved a new ten-year comprehensive plan, Brunswick Forward, in January. Now the city government will implement the plan by making decisions that will shape Brunswick for the next decade and more. It’s crucial that each Council member works hard to understand the implications of any planning or zoning amendment and weighs them carefully before voting.
If elected, I’ll take that job seriously, do my homework, and be prepared.
Commemorate
Local governments sometimes should stand on ceremony.
It’s important to mark holidays, welcome new residents and businesses, memorialize the past, and bestow honors and recognition. An elected government can do that in a way that is meaningful for the whole community.
Events like Railroad Days and the Veterans Day Parade are a good time, but they also link together Brunswick’s past, present, and future. Keeping them going should be a priority. The same goes for smaller things like maintaining monuments and holding ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new businesses. They remind people that there’s something more here than just a bunch of houses close to each other.
Events like Railroad Days and the Veterans Day Parade are a good time, but they also link together Brunswick’s past, present, and future.
Serving on the History Commission, I’m proud to help with things such as honoring new Brunswick Distinguished Citizens each year for their lifetime of contributions to our town. Those things will remain important to me if I’m elected to the City Council.
…And Get Out of the Way
Governments exist to provide public services and uphold the law, not to micromanage lives.
If the city government can keep the cost of utilities down, keep the streets safe and sanitary, and make it easy and convenient for people to get around town, then Brunswick’s people and businesses can take care of most of the rest.
Our citizens and entrepreneurs will find ways to make Brunswick thrive that the Mayor and Council won’t even have thought of.
Being willing to step aside when the City’s intervention isn’t needed shows confidence. It shows confidence that the city government has done its job of planning, maintaining, and building well enough that things won’t go sideways. And it shows confidence that our ~8,000 citizens and entrepreneurs will find ways to make Brunswick thrive that the seven people behind the Mayor and Council table won’t even have thought of.
My experience in the Army led me to resist micromanagement and prize initiative. Things run better that way. If elected, I’ll apply that philosophy here.
