This is an expanded version of the Press interview with Deb Thomson, candidate for selectman.
Tell us about your work as an attorney and advocate for the elderly and disabled in Massachusetts:
“I am a registered lobbyist. What I do now is mainly working on Beacon Hill. I work with the state administration … primarily the Office of Elder affairs to assure adequate funding for programs in the state budget. There are a whole series of services that need adequate funding: home care services–not necessarily medical services, but daily care services–protective services for elders at risk, councils on aging funding, prescription advantage. What we’re talking about is the state budget process, which comes out in January and ends up being passed in July, and at the end of it all the agencies supposedly have the appropriations they need to live on.
So there’s that piece, and then there’s the administrative piece, which is primarily working with the office of elder affairs on elder issues. What I do is policy across the board. I have very good relationships with Jamie [State Senator Jamie Eldridge] and Jen [State Representative Jennifer Benson]. I think that’s something that I can bring to Harvard, which is an understanding of how Beacon Hill works and what resources are available out there that the town could use.”
What does it take to be successful in a job like that?
“For the legislative work, it takes a tremendous amount of perseverance. Passing legislation is long term. It isn’t something you do in six months. It’s something you do over a period of years in most cases. And I think that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These are important changes to the way that the state spends its money and they need to be sound, and they need to be clear that whatever they’re doing is going to have the appropriate effect. That takes a while. And I think that the personality characteristic you need is to be a nag, to put it bluntly. You have to continue to see that out of the 6,000 bills that get filed every year, that your handful of bills gets advanced. And it’s a difficult process. That’s why bills get refiled. A session is essentially a year and one-half. At the end of that, if your bill hasn’t passed, you have to refile it for the next session. So that can go on for some time. In fact, the longest bill I ever heard passed was 21 years and that was for the gay rights bill. They really hung in there. That perseverance is something that I’m required to have in my job, and hopefully I could bring to the Board of Selectmen.”
Where did you grow up and go to school?
“I grew up in Philadelphia on the mainline … Haverford and Bryn Mar. I attended Penn State and the George Washington University Law Center. I was there during Watergate, which was an interesting experience. I watched the arguments as a newbie apprentice lawyer. It was enlightening.
What drives the government in Harvard is the town and the values that the town espouses and the willingness of the town to engage in dialog. I think that’s always critical and doesn’t always come out, but I’d like to encourage that to happen. I think the Board of Selectmen’s role is to take input from the town and digest that and turn it into a recommendation that hopefully meets the needs of most people. And I’d like to give that a try.”
Do you see the members of the Board of Selectmen as beholden to different constituencies in town?
“Based on my experience with the Board of Selectmen, I don’t see them as bound to particular constituencies. I think it’s much more across the board. There are certain things they all have in common, like, how are we going to take the revenues we have to fund the projects we need to fund. That’s a struggle. Some of that is reflected, I suppose, in whether you want to give money to one appropriation or another one, but I think people try to be even handed about it. Most of the town budget is available for education funding, but that’s necessary. I don’t see how you can get around that. We also have a number of capital projects coming up that reflect the needs of different groups. You’ve got the fire chief and the DPW and Hildreth House, and you’ve got a whole range of issues out there, but I do think that the current Board of electmen does not go out of its way to say, ‘This is an elder issue or this is a schools issue. That they try to be more even handed and come to some sort of compromise and collaboration. If we can’t do that, what can we do? We have to figure out a way to talk to each other.
As somebody said, a democracy is only as good as its losers. That is, when people don’t get what they want , they need to continue working in the process. It’s not sufficient to walk away from the table. Without naming any names, there have been a series of incidents like that, where people have resigned from committees or other roles in own government because they’re unhappy. I think rather than do that, people should say let’s figure out how we can make this work in a way that satisfies people.”
How do you bring people back?
“Good question. Really. Sometimes people come back. You know, the board of selectmen can’t solve all the problems of human nature. It’s just not possible. There are some things we can do incrementally to make it better in Harvard, and that’s what I think we should concentrate on.”
So in your view, what is the role of the Board of Selectmen?
“The role of the Board of Selectmen, in addition to the statutorily defined duties of the bylaw that we have, is to take input from the town to try to determine what is in the best interest of the citizens of Harvard, and operationalize it. That includes trying to maintain the values that we have in Harvard. Harvard is a very special place, in my opinion. It’s physically beautiful. It has amenities like the pond that you don’t have everywhere. Fruitlands is really special as well. And it’s important to preserve all those things. That’s the value of living in Harvard– you have a community with special features and you’re with a bunch of people that really want to make it work. So if we can find each other and find ways to make it work, then that’s what we need to do as the Board of Selectmen. I don’t think I need to go in there and say, ‘I want this, this is what I want. It’s more ‘What do we need as a town.'”
What’s the role then of the individual selectman?
“My first job if I am elected will be to learn. There are many details about the budget and issues like Devens disposition that are complicated, and I would very much like to learn more about them and be able to efficiently process and make recommendations. And again, I don’t want to leave out the input of the town. That’s what I would see as my role. Figuring out what’s going on with the town government and contributing in a way that reflects the needs of the community and the best outcome for the community.”
How does your professional expertise help?
“Well, I’m an attorney. Being an attorney brings certain skills to the table. Attorneys are trained to listen critically, to make arguments in an effective way, to suggest mediation and compromise where appropriate, to be articulate, to take ideas and explain them in a way that makes sense. These are all attorney-related roles. I think more so than some other occupations which are represented in our town. So hopefully I can come to the board with a set of skills that involve critical thinking, assessment and articulation of issues.”
Would you be the only attorney on the Board?
“Oh yeah.”
The town has added personnel to the administrative staff over the past two or three years. Do you think additional personnel are needed or are there enough to handle town business?
“I can’t comment on the addition of personnel to town administration. But I also know that personnel is one of the fastest increasing pieces of our omnibus budget, for fiscal 2015. We’ve seen a lot of increases in personnel across the board and I don’t think that’s necessarily for staff that support the Town Administrator. I’m happy that Marie Sobalvarro is available now providing the support that he needs…I think we should wait and see in the next budget cycle if it’s working out. If it’s working well, you don’t need more administrative staff. The thing about personnel is…once you add them it’s very hard to subtract them. We need to be careful about spending in general.”
Are there holes in town administration?
“I don’t know a lot about it, but I think there are some concerns about maintenance, ongoing maintenance. For instance the library has certain maintenance needs, Town Hall has huge maintenance needs, so it might be worth considerin. I’m not saying we should hire somebody—but just considering whether or not there are personnel needs that could be filled and would provide for better and more timely maintenance.”
At what point might Harvard need to move to a town manager form of government?
“You’re asking me to predict something I couldn’t possibly answer. It remains to be seen. For now the town is able to proceed with its current form of government. Some of it depends on what the population will look like as we go forward. Are we going to be seeing a great increase in residents, for instance, and would that make more demands. What about Devens? What if we assume original jurisdiction of Devens? What is that going to mean in terms of town government, and how do we structure the Devens component with the Harvard component? For now, my personal feeling is, aside from the maintenance issue, that we should just hold steady with the employment that we have.”
Are the selectmen doing so much that they can’t do anything well? Is it just too much?
“I’m not here to throw stones at the Board of Selectmen. I’m about to retire at the end of the calendar year. I still run the PASS group. One reason I’ve waited so long to get involved in town government more than I have is because I have a job, and I think to be a selectman and have a full-time job is almost impossible. Being a selectman is close to being a full-time job. I don’t know if you could attract a wider range of candidates if it weren’t so work-intensive. It’s possible. But for now, I think if you have people who are stepping up to the plate, as we seem to, the workload is doable.”
Can you name anything that the selectmen have done well?
“Oh gosh, I really don’t feel comfortable answering that. I think they’re doing better in the advanced planning process. I don’t know whether it’s the selectmen specifically, but their participation in some of the Master Plan and Planning Board issues I think has been helpful.”
Civility. Is it a problem? Any ideas on how to fix that?
“Well civility is very important in our town. In the past we have had instances of incivility…and the League of Women voters took this on as an issue and had a civility forum last fall which I participated in making happen, trying to bring people together to have a useful dialog. And I think that forum was very illustrative of our need and very helpful. I think it’s a gradual process [by which] you bring about a change in the discourse of the town. I don’t think we’re there yet, but I think things have improved. There are still some outstanding examples of incivility…I’m hesitating to point to specifics. I don’t want to finger anybody, but on the other hand I think if you read the Press you will know that there have been some difficult moments in our town governance over the past year or two. And hopefully people will be able to rise above that and come to some comprehensive solutions.”
How would the board be different once you join it?
“Well, it’s like the Supreme Court, you know, where you have a split of the justices. I think that having four on the board is difficult because on a vote you can have a 2-2 split, and then you’ve got a tie and then what happens? You don’t really come to a conclusion. So having an odd number of people in that situation will be helpful. I may not agree with the result, but at least there will be a result that was voted upon. I think the current board has tried very hard to solve issues without serious disagreement. And perhaps that’s driven by the two and two split. I don’t know. But it will be interesting to see what difference the additional person makes to that mix.”
What are the two or three most important issues you expect to face during your term?
“I think we have to reach some agreement on Town Hall. I think that is an absolute imperative. The building is posing a danger to people who work there, which is appalling to me. We need to fix it. So that would really be number one. It is an urgent need that the town has to meet, and the Board of Selectmen has to figure out what it can say on this issue.
Secondly, I would say an important issue is Hildreth House senior center. What happens to it? Does it continue to be used as a senior center? Does it get the appropriation it needs to make it handicapped accessible. If not, what happens? What about the town elderly housing they are at least talking about building near Hildreth House. Is that a realistic projection? Do they have the sewer capacity to do it? So that’s my second issue.
And my third issue is schools … making sure that the schools get the funding they need to function effectively. Some of that has to do with local aid contributions and other things we can do at the state level to improve the money that the town gets for its education system.
Those would be my top three”
What do you think of the board’s decision to take control of the Town Hall project away from its appointed building committee?
“I think that we need to acknowledge the tremendous work that Pete Jackson and his team did in bringing the Town Hall issue to the fore and to present clearly options for restoration and renovation of Town Hall. I cannot thank those people enough for the hundreds of hours they contributed to this effort. Obviously, the expenditure levels were of concern to the town, to annual town meeting, and they voted less than the current building committee had recommended–the 3.9 million [Editors Note: The vote was not to approve an additional $1.1 million for the project], which changed the dynamic of what could be done, and also what the role of the building committee was. So I think given the difficulties of that situation, that it probably was appropriate to try to get some fresh thinking on the issue.”
Do you agree with those who say the Selectmen should hit the “pause button” and hand the project back to a building committee to create additional options, or should the Selectmen move ahead with their Plan 1B.
That question has been called by the discovery of the fact that the southeast corner was not resting on anything. That debate is less relevant now. I think the first priority is fixing the building so it doesn’t pose a danger to anybody and that it will continue to stand for another hundred years. I would defer to the town. We’re having a warrant and will vote on it, and I will follow the wishes of the town.
How should the selectmen go about reaching a decision on how to use the building after it has been repaired?
“I think they need to go back to the town, as cumbersome as that might be. I don’t know whether it would be in the form of a public discussion, a forum, a charrette, a vote of the Board of Selectmen, I don’t know what the approach would be, but I think if we don’t at this point have everybody on board with a common solution, it’s going to continue to be contentious. I think there are very basic issues that are brought to the fore in this whole Town Hall debate, one of which is about how much we spend. Are we spending more than we’re taking in? What’s the situation with our revenues? [Brings up the 20-year tax projection published the Press] I didn’t put a whole lot of weight on it, but it’s definitely a concern of the town that you need to balance what you get for the taxes that you pay, and I think that for some reason that has come to the fore on Town Hall…This might be changed now that we have an urgent mandate to do something about the building.”
You know, Harvard, in a sense, has different camps of political opinion, and they really coalesced in ways around Town Hall. I think Town Hall is an icon at this point for some of that political debate. Factions? I think there are loosely aligned groups that have similar views and perspectives on things. And some of that is in the mix here, but beyond that I’d rather not comment. Is the divide fiscal? We live in America. Look at the divides that we have as a nation. We have the Tea Party, the Progressives, the middle of the roaders. It’s all part of a good democratic mix. I don’t want to say that democracy should not be encouraged in Harvard; it should be, but on the other hand, it does result in certain groups who have certain themes that come out in different issues across the board.
I don’t have a strong opinion about how the building should be used. But I do want the building preserved and restored. This is our town heritage. In a lot of ways we are stewards of the town. We are stewards of the town buildings, not just Town Hall, but the old library, and the Hildreth House. These are treasures that fit our values as a community, and we should do everything we can to keep them useable and keep them…restored.
You said that Town Hall is an icon. An icon of what?
When you think of Harvard as a community, what do you think of? The snapshot of Town Hall. To me Town Hall represents our town values, our role as a village in a democracy, in a nation of democracy. It’s an emotional connection in a lot of ways. I think other people share that feeling. There are others who disagree … who might think it’s not an appropriate building at this point to house our town government or our community meetings. But I disagree. I value the building and what it stands for. “
So you don’t have strong feelings about its use one way or the other? It could be the location of the offices. It could be a meeting space. It could be a cultural center.
“Yes. I will listen to what other people feel strongly about.”
And you feel the town should be the one to say? In a town meeting perhaps?
“Yes, I do.”
When would be the right time to make that decision?
“Well, we have 18 months to opt out of a lease. I would think discussion would begin now. I don’t want to leave the Master Plan out of this discussion. I think it’s an important way to lay out the issues, get people’s response, and prioritize what we want to see happen over the next decade. I think there has been tremendous work put in to date by the Master Plan Steering Committee, and I give them great credit for that. It hasn’t been easy, and hopefully it will continue … for example, with the upcoming forum on Devens.”
Do you have an opinion about Devens?
“I would like to see original jurisdiction. However with the big caveat that it has to work in a way that the town can afford. And it has to provide benefits that the town can use. ..It’s a very complicated issue, and it’s going to take more work to tease out those issues.”
Do you have a relationship with Mass Development as a result of your work on Beacon Hill?
“I think I have that relationship with the legislature and I think it came out when we were debating proposal 2B as well. I was able to bring Harvard’s concerns to the legislature. Jamie [Eldridge] was an active listener. Lucy and I met with the Senate Ways and Means committee to talk about our perspective on the issue. So I can facilitate those connections. I don’t know where Mass Development stands, but at one point there was legislation they had proposed …about Devens becoming a separate town, but we were able to stop it through my intervention. We were able to present arguments against it and ultimately it didn’t happen.”
How important is it to preserve the rural character of Harvard?
“I think the rural character of the town is very important. I think that tourism is becoming an increasingly important part of Harvard’s economy and its life. The General Store is a perfect example. Look what happens on the weekends with all the bikers coming through. Look at what we’ve got going at the Center on the Common, all the different events that they have there. I don’t know if this bears out in the town budget in revenues, but to me it feels like since I’ve moved here that Harvard has come alive in many ways. Even with all of this activity we still preserve our rural character. We have lots of vibrant, fruit-producing orchards in Harvard. I think they’re important; they attract people to come pick the apples or the blueberries; it’s part of our economic resource.”
You’re the first person I’ve heard use the word tourism in relation to Harvard
“Look at this postcard, picture-perfect town we have here. The Globe article last Sunday made Harvard sound like the ideal little New England town, and people should come and visit and stop at the General Store and go pick some apples. It sounded charming—it is charming– and it’s part of the economic resource of our town.”
So how does the commercial district fit into this?
“Full disclosure, I am a resident—or near—the commercial district. I live in the first house on Poor Farm Road. I think there is room for development in the C-district. I’m not sure whether that development should include a supermarket.”
Are you against it?
“A lot depends on how it’s done. A supermarket done within the current zoning, if in fact they do certain things, potentially might be doable. The traffic on Ayer and Poor Farm Road and other Roads leading to the supermarket would be significantly increased. I think that needs looking at. Lighting issues need looking at too. For people who live on Ayer Road, depending on where they would put a supermarket, lighting can be a big issue. There’s also the issue of trucks coming in early in the morning to unload the food, the noise and exhaust and idling.
I think it would be more appropriate to do more of the kind of development that’s currently being done there with professional offices and medical siting that doesn’t have a high traffic volume. I’m simply not sure. I don’t know the answer as to whether a supermarket could be maintained by the current population.”
What role do the selectmen have in deciding commercial development?
“The Economic Development Committee is jointly appointed by the Selectmen and Planning Board. I think the Board of Selectmen needs to educate itself sufficiently to take an appropriate stand on a bylaw change or a zoning change, and I don’t think that’s been done yet.”
What should be done with Hildreth House?
“I think Hildreth House should be preserved as a senior center. It will take some doing to make it accessible. The repairs that are needed are significant. I support the proposal to do it in two phases. The CPC discussed these issues in the prior grant cycle. If it gets done, it’s going to have to get done by excluded debt. I don’t know how we could afford it otherwise. That leads to the larger issue of what can we afford to bond out. There are other projects that are needy as well. For example, the kindergarten wing needs renovation. I think we should do what we can to make the Hildreth House useable for senior citizens. The demographics are such that over the next decade we’re going to see a greatly increased number of seniors. As baby boomers age, we’re probably seeing a continuing decline in school enrollment. So you’ve got to balance those needs against each other and find a way to make it work out financially. That’s the job of the FinCom as well as the Board of Selectmen.”
Should town rethink it’s 2.5% annual increase in property tax?
“I don’t think that, as a rule of thumb, we should eliminate the automatic 2 ½ percent increase. I don’t think that, as a rule of thumb, we should increase taxes. There are things we can do. Increased revenue sharing is something that I think would benefit the town. There are other things we should look at before we think about raising taxes. If we went to a 3 percent surcharge on the CPC funds, we would get more state money.”
[Editor’s note: Taxpayers currently pay a 1.1% surcharge on their property tax bills to fund the town’s Community Preservation Fund.]
Do you favor an increase in the CPA surcharge?
“Yes. I would defer to the town for the ultimate decision here, but we’re leaving money on the table. If we’re looking for additional sources of revenue, we definitely need to look at that. The state provides more matching funds to towns that adopt the 3 percent surcharge.”
What about a meals tax?
“At this point I don’t think we can break out individual tax increases that we would support. I think the finances are a package. We first of all need to say, how much do we need? What are our goals? How much money do we need to accomplish those goals? And which of those means should we select as the best way to go … and that’s a future discussion.”
Do you support senior tax relief?
“I think it’s very important.The senior circuit breaker is something that we should be actively pushing. It’s a state law. It’s a credit against your state taxes. It’s a matter of deciding whether you qualify or not. The Council on Aging has information and applications for seniors. We need to be creative in looking at revenue sources and what we tax. And hopefully I could help with that process given my Beacon Hill connection.
What about the town’s current level of debt?
“Right now I think debt is about 5 percent of our town budget. I think that’s a number within the average range of towns of our size. I’m not uncomfortable with that. As we go forward with additional capital requests we need to be very careful about what we’re committing our town to. And we really need to have some means of ordering the priorities.
Listening to the town is where we need to start. CPIC, FinCom, and BOS are talking to each other. Presumably whatever they come up with is the subject of a town warrant. We have more claims for long-term debt than we can support at the moment, so we have to stage these.”
Should the town set a debt limit as some have proposed?
“It sounds like Congress. I think it’s a bad idea. I think that having a debt limit that is constructed independent of the needs of the town is asking for trouble. We don’t know what’s going to come up. We might have a Hurricane Sandy descend on our town and have all sorts of renovation and DPW costs. I think we need to have flexibility to meet unexpected needs.”
Should Harvard encourage younger families to move to town?
“I don’t want to give preference to any one set of the population.. I don’t know that it’s a good idea to encourage one particular cohort of the population to move into Harvard. We need to deal with the demographics that we see unfolding before us. If there is a way to apply existing credits or subsidies for younger families, then that’s worth exploring. But I don’t think we need to prioritize one cohort over the other. I don’t think we should prioritize seniors versus prioritizing children either. I’m concerned about a dynamic that pits generations against each other. Our schools right now are funded adequately and I hope they will continue to be and will do my best to see that they are. But I also think we need to pay attention to the needs of our seniors. If we don’t we’re going to come up short with people in need and not having the services to meet their needs.
Harvard’s a very desirable location, for the schools, for the culture, for the values, for the beauty, for the apples, you name it. It’s a place that people want to live. And I think that’s wonderful. I would like to make housing affordable for people who want to live here, in particular the children of families who have grown up here. But…there’s a limited amount the town can do.
Why do you want the job of Selectman?
This sounds corny, but I would like to help. I would like to help Harvard be the most it can be. To protect our heritage; to make this a place where people want to live … where we can talk to each other without acrimony. I came here 10 years ago and I fell in love with Harvard. I would like Harvard to continue to have a vibrant and active town center. And that’s important to the future of our town. Preserving the housing, the churches, the town common, the wonderful field in front of the public library, and all of the things that make Harvard great. If I sound emotional or sentimental, it’s because I am emotionally attached to the town of Harvard.
What would you like voters to know about you that they don’t?
What I would like voters to know about me is that one, I’m a lawyer, which gives me certain skills that I can bring to the office of the Board of Selectmen. My hope is that we can continue to improve the level of public discourse in Harvard. That we can treat each other and each other’s opinions with respect. And that we can tolerate differences of opinion. And if elected to the board, I will try to make that my mission.
