NEWFANE — A few weeks ago, while walking my dog on Newfane Hill Road, one of our neighbors asked me, “What made you decide to run for Selectboard?”
Since we were walking in opposite directions, I thought of a short, precise, one-sentence answer.
“Well... I think I'll do a good job because I am a good listener and have common sense when solving problems,” I said. We shared a few other words, we wished each other well, and continued walking on.
Thinking about it later, the correct answer is a lot more involved than “I'm a good listener and have common sense.”
So I've asked myself several times: What was it that finally led me to drive to the Town Hall and hand in my signature petition forms to our town clerk?
Being a Selectboard member is a lot of work! It is not easy work. It's legal, serious, important, complicated, long-houred, detailed, full of ordinances and bylaws, opposing opinions, and a whole town of your fellow citizens are counting on you to do it well - and, of course, there is that scrutinizing BCTV camera taping every meeting and every word that is spoken.
Somewhere in that response to my neighbor's question I could have mentioned that I have transferrable skills and experience as a member of the Brattleboro Food Co-op board of directors between 2006 and 2009, and that working together to oversee policies while speaking with one voice when decisions are reached is not new to me.
Likewise, I could've truthfully said that I am running for Selectboard because my husband and I love living in Newfane full time, and have loved the get-it-done community spirit of our neighbors over the past 18 years.
I might have also shared how Newfane has the best road crew around and how I want to keep it that way, or that I'd like to work toward making the business of town governance run efficiently and effectively without the need for contention or to limit the power of the citizen's voice at the ballot box.
As true as those answers are, they are not the one, single, actual reason that the name of Carol A. Hatcher is on this year's ballot for the town of Newfane's Selectboard.
Actually, that final decision had more to do with a rumor than with anything else. I overheard a few of my trusted friends and neighbors sharing that they hadn't heard of anyone else wanting to run for a position on the Selectboard this year.
Now, I know its a tough job, but no one running is pretty disastrous and hard to even think about.
Newfane is blessed to have so many talented, caring, experienced, and thoughtful citizens who have served and governed our town well over the years. They've worked hard to ensure that our citizens' collective needs are met, that the town is safe, secure, and prosperous, operating within a set standard of laws, and paying the bills on time. But, those citizens are not running this year.
The words “not running this year” were almost unbelievable to me.
“How can this be?” I asked myself. Someone needs to step up, I thought. Someone needs to say yes.
More than anything else, this sobering realization was the real catalyst for me to say yes to myself and to say to the citizens of Newfane, “I guess this year, that 'someone' will be me.”
I am fully committed to working hard to continue the tradition of fair and good governance for the town of Newfane. I am seeking your support and your vote on March 3 for the position of Selectboard.