On Monday evening, I attended a candidate forum at the library. It was mainly an opportunity to introduce ourselves to voters, as opposed to a raucous debate. I spoke about what drove me to run: the idea that community and local government need each other in order to thrive. Our local government is here to support the needs of the commnunity, from schools and parks to roads and local businesses. An engaged community holds government accountable and provides natural support to neighbors, families, and businesses. The ideal is to have both halves working together to provide the most good.
One topic that came up again and again from people like me, who are running for the first time, was that we are not "politicians." For most of us, especially those running for local offices like Town Council or School Committee, the title of politician doesn't seem to fit. We stand to earn very little for occupying an office and we will take on a significant amount of work.
We are running because we care about our community.
I am not going to tell you that I care more than my opponents or anyone else running. We all care. We want to make sure the town we live in and love is thriving, not sit in the Oval Office or run the world.
Person after person stood up on Monday, some of us a little shaky and nervous, to make the case for how and why we want to represent our town in a variety of local offices.
You don't have to agree with each and every idea of each and every person to see that we all came together because we want Cumberland's present and future to be the best it can be. We want good financial stewardship, excellent schools, safe roads, green spaces, and recreation for everyone, from our oldest residents to our youngest. We want a town that we're proud to call home.
After seeing how much each candidate and attendee cares about Cumberland, I think it's safe to say that our future already looks pretty bright.
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