I grew up in Indiana in a small, one-factory town. For over a century, our community’s economy depended on this factory. When it was caught illegally polluting the river, instead of taking ownership of their actions, they moved overseas. Our town never recovered. I moved from there when I was 14, to another rural town in western North Carolina. I stayed there for college and gained the work trade of painting and drywalling, a profession I still do when I can today. We then moved to Vermont in 2017 for me to attend Vermont Law School. In 2019, we decided Randolph would be our home. We bought a vacant house and began fixing it up, and in 2020 I began working for the Town of Randolph.
I was the assistant administrator for both the zoning department and the town manager for a year, then I was elected to be our town clerk and treasurer. My three-year term taught me so much about our town, our residents, and our various challenges we face as a community. What I heard most often from residents can be boiled down to one phrase: “Things aren’t getting easier.”
My wife and I have two kids and we both work full time, and we share one car. We’ve been tightening the belt lately, like most folks. I agree that we are moving into more difficult times, both nationally and locally. But I disagree with the hands-off approach. Towns in decline don’t get better by not investing in them – no more than houses do. They need planning, maintenance, and investment.