When Noyan Kinayman and Rich Maiore, the two candidates for an open seat on the Select Board, shared a stage last Thursday night, the event was unlike many contests this election season. Neither mentioned any political party affiliation. Neither made any negative remarks. Instead, each candidate set forth his ideas about the challenges Harvard faces and how the town can move forward to resolve those issues.
The Oct. 18 event, sponsored by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, drew between 40 and 50 people to upper Town Hall. The candidates answered questions that had been developed by a league committee in conjunction with the Harvard Press, including some questions submitted by the public. Those questions had been sent to the candidates in advance and were posed at the event by the moderator, Jo-Ann Berry of the Acton LWV. Later in the program, audience members questioned the candidates directly.
In his opening statement Kinayman emphasized his background in business as well as his experience on town committees. He said he sees four high-priority issues for Harvard—assuming jurisdiction of Harvard’s historical portion of Devens; creating senior and affordable housing; maintaining municipal buildings and schools; and providing property tax assistance programs to seniors. He called those issues “important but manageable,” and he said he believes the new Harvard Charter will allow the Select Board to lead the way in addressing them.
Rich Maiore. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Rich Maiore emphasized his local roots, noting that he grew up in Harvard and graduated from the Bromfield School. He said he moved back to town 14 years ago to raise his children in a place with a strong sense of community. Like Kinayman, Maiore has served on several town committees. He said the decisions that Harvard faces now “could change the scale and scope of our little community,” and he said the town must find financially sustainable solutions.
For both candidates, the question of how to resolve the eventual disposition of Devens came up repeatedly. Kinayman, who previously served on the Devens Economic Analysis Team, listed a number of advantages for Harvard in resuming jurisdiction, saying doing so would be a “great opportunity” to broaden the town’s tax base. He said Devens has more than 100 businesses, contributes $2.5 billion a year to the Massachusetts economy, and has great potential for biotechnology businesses.
From ‘heck no’ to ‘probably’
Maiore noted that his position on resuming jurisdiction had “evolved from a ‘Heck, no!’ to a ‘Probably.’” He said he sees “a lot more pros” to resumption than he saw five or 10 years ago, including diversifying the tax base, adding water and septic availability, and gaining more access to playing fields. However, he cautioned, he believes taking back jurisdiction will “change the character of this town, so tread lightly.”
The two returned to the topic of Devens in response to a question from the moderator on managing town finances by either increasing revenue or cutting costs. There is no panacea, Maiore said, explaining he had spent five years on the town’s Economic Development Committee looking for ways to solve this issue. He said building up the commercial district (C-district) on Ayer Road would add revenue “at the margins,” but development there is difficult because the district lacks a public water supply. He suggested turning to corporate sponsorship for town playing fields, as some other towns have done. As for cutting expenses, he said he did not see where cuts could be made in programs or employees, and he particularly said he would not want to cut funds to the Council on Aging.
Noyan Kinayman.
Kinayman agreed that the only way to increase revenue from the C-district would require spending money to upgrade infrastructure and make the location more attractive to business. Devens, he concluded, should be the priority for increasing revenue. As for cutting expenses, he said he favored a “third lever,” separate from either revenue increases or program cuts. That lever, he suggested, was increasing efficiency in town government operations, for example by streamlining building maintenance.
Asked their opinion on the new Harvard Charter, both candidates agreed it was really too soon to tell. Maiore said his opinion was, “So far, so good.” Kinayman said sections of the charter could be improved and communication could be better.
On the question of making the old library wheelchair-accessible and repairing its roof, again the two candidates seemed to be in substantial agreement. Kinayman said a vibrant cultural center would be a great asset to the town, but he wanted to see all the figures before giving a definitive answer. Maiore took a stronger stand, saying, “Whether we keep [the building] or sell it, we need to fix it, and we need to fix it now before the costs go up.”
Housing for seniors was another topic that both candidates considered important. Maiore said the Planning Board, on which he currently serves, supports allowing an assisted living facility in the C-district “by right,” that is, without special government review or approval. Kinayman expressed support for the proposed senior housing near Hildreth House and suggested moving the fire station to allow for more units there.
In the first question from the audience, Brad Besse of Westcott Road asked about a lack of transparency in town government, giving as an example the recent discussion of swapping conservation land to create more sports fields. Kinayman suggested that one Select Board member should be responsible for making sure the board’s discussions are publicized, while Maiore proposed a dedicated electronic newsletter for the same purpose.
Schools, maintenance, incivility
Both School Committee member Shannon Molloy and Capital Planning and Investment Committee member Nate Finch asked about the candidates’ support for the schools. Both candidates agreed that maintenance issues should be addressed promptly as one way of keeping expenses under control.
In another question, Besse said he was increasingly concerned about the level of incivility in political debate and asked the candidates how they would handle disagreements. Maiore replied, “I’ve been here long enough to see where it’s gotten bad and where it’s gotten better, and I think we are in a better phase right now in the ability to work with each other when we don’t agree.” Both he and Kinayman agreed it was up to the Select Board to set an example and tone for town politics.
Maiore and Kinayman will be on the ballot for the two-year Select Board vacancy in a Special Town Election to be held Nov. 6, concurrent with the state and federal elections that day.
Candidates for Select Board:
Noyan Kinayman and Rich Maiore
Noyan Kinayman
Childhood: I grew up in Ankara, Turkey, and have lived in the United States for over 20 years. Coincidentally, my grandfather had a small farm with apple trees and grapevines. I spent many of my childhood summer weekends on his farm picking apples. I have one sister.
Noyan Kinayman. (Courtesy photo)
Time in Harvard: I have been living in Harvard for a little more than four years.
Education: I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in science from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, and a doctorate degree from Bilkent University, also in Ankara. They are all in electrical and electronics engineering.
Profession: I work as an radio-frequency engineer for a startup company in the area.
Family: I live in Harvard with my wife, Shannon, and two kids, who both attend Hildreth Elementary School. We have a very friendly orange cat.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I love spending time outside doing yard work. I especially enjoy working on my tractor. It’s a big joke in our house how much I like the tractor.
What is the ONE thing you value most about Harvard? Public schools. We moved here for the schools but quickly learned Harvard has so much more than that to offer.
What is ONE thing you would work to change/improve? Expanding the tax base. We should consider assuming jurisdiction of Devens.
Rich Maiore
Childhood: My family moved to Harvard from Pound Ridge, New York, when I was 12. I have three younger siblings—Rachel, Kat and Dan.
Rich Maiore. (Courtesy photo)
Time in Harvard: After years away, I moved back to Harvard 14 years ago, shortly following the birth of our first child, Caroline.
Education: I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from American University and a Master of Arts degree from Boston College.
Profession: Currently I am president of Rocket Social Impact, a corporate social responsibility consulting agency.
Family: My wife, Joyce, is a labor and delivery nurse at Emerson Hospital. I have two daughters, Caroline (14) and Lucy (12). We have one dog, Ginger, and two cats, Bear and Ollie.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I enjoy running the trails of Harvard and being a pro bono Uber driver for my children.
What is the ONE thing you value most about Harvard? The strong sense of community that exists here.
What is ONE thing you would work to change/improve? A more diverse tax base.
Assembled by Carlene Phillips
