Chatham Candidates Stake Out Positions At Forum

CHATHAM – An overflow, standing-room-only crowd listened last Thursday afternoon as the four candidates for the select board responded to questions on topics ranging from the town’s airport to affordable housing.

 People had to be turned away from the annex, where the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area-sponsored forum was held. The session, however, was recorded and can be streamed on the town’s website.

 Meredith Fry, Carol Gordon, Brian Phillips and Randi Potash are running for the one three-year term on the board in the May 14 annual town election. Polls at the community center will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

 In opening statements, each of the candidates enumerated their qualifications and reasons for running. Fry said she found a warm and supportive community when she moved to Chatham almost 25 years ago, and has spent the past 20 years on the park and recreation commission, 11 as chair.

 “Chatham has given me everything,” she said, “and I strive to give back.”

 Gordon trained as a nurse and has run a bed and breakfast in South Chatham since 1999. She founded the South Chatham Village Association and serves as its president, and she is in her second term on the board of health. She said she has no ties to private interest and is committed to Chatham residents.

 “I’m an independent critical thinker who knows how to get things done,” she said.

 Brian Phillips, a member of the airport commission, is on his third run for the select board. It’s a position that requires hard decisions that sometimes upset people, he said. 

 “It takes a tremendous amount of courage to run for the select board,” he said.

 Currently chair of the zoning board of appeals and a former member of the human services committee and bikeways committee, Randi Potash is a practicing attorney and mediator. She has volunteered as an attorney for WE CAN and served as the town’s representative on the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. 

 “I’m ready to serve on day one,” she said, “and I ask that you hold me accountable.”

 Asked how they would vote on a residential tax exemption (RTE), all four candidates said they were open to supporting the provision. 

 Gordon said she supports the finance committee’s request to delay implementation of the RTE to gather information. “Year-round residents deserve a break, but I’d like to determine what is fair and equitable to all,” she said.

 Fry said she wanted to ensure that the RTE is narrowly targeted to families who need assistance, such as through means testing. More research would be helpful, she said, and suggested the fincom could complete their study before September, when the board will vote on implementing the RTE.

 Year-round residents are the heart of Chatham, Potash said, and she would vote in favor of the RTE. “[Chatham] is what it is thanks to the year-round residents,” she said. “We need to do every single solitary thing we can to help them.”

 Short-term rentals and large homes raise the cost of living and price out working people who want to live here year round, Phillips said. A viable year-round community, with a healthy school-age population, creates the conditions that allow nonresidents and visitors to enjoy the town, he said. The RTE will help restore balance, he added.

 All of the candidates said they support affordable housing. Gordon was critical of the two Pennrose projects currently in development, and said there needs to be more emphasis on attainable housing for working people who don’t qualify for affordable housing. Fry said the town should buy land to create affordable and attainable neighborhoods.

 “If we don’t have housing, our small businesses suffer, our schools suffer,” she said, adding that she is part of a small working group studying the issue. “This is a big issue and I’m committed to it.”

 Potash has participated in comprehensive permit hearings for the two Pennrose projects. State law gives the zoning board limited discretion in negotiating details of the developments. She advocated for smaller projects that focus on homeownership through local nonprofit agencies.

 “I’m unapologetically in favor of affordable housing that’s Chathamesque,” she said.

 Phillips said he does not support the Pennrose projects and said deed restrictions on year-round homes, available through the town’s seasonal community designation, will help create more housing.

 “My goal is to create affordable housing out of the infrastructure we already have,” he said.

 Regarding Chatham Airport, Potash said she supports a May 11 warrant article to study the impact of the use of the facility by larger aircraft but noted that the Federal Aviation Administration controls many aspects of airport use. It’s important that the airport commission communicate better with residents, she said.

 Fry said she was concerned about use of the airport by larger aircraft. Phillips, a member of the airport commission, said the study will look at operational changes, but he did not foresee an increase in traffic. Gordon said she’d like to see use of the airport restricted to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. There needs to be mending of fences between the commission and the public, she said, adding that the commission needs to respect what residents have to say.

 “Communications is good only if people listen to one another,” she said.

 Asked about speeding up the pace of sewer connections, Gordon suggested quarterly reports or a public thermometer to gauge compliance. Potash said the town needs to reach out to those who are required to connect to the sewer and provide information about programs to help subsidize the hefty cost. Phillips called for more town financial assistance to get homeowners to connect. The town should do all it can to encourage connecting, said Fry.

 In closing remarks, Potash said she would call on her mediation skills as a member of the select board, especially making sure that people are heard.

 “I know what it feels like to not be heard,” she said.

 Having grown up in Chatham, Phillips said, he’s seen what works and what doesn’t. “I care about this place and I just want to see that it moves in the right direction,” he said.

 Gordon said she was running because she cares deeply about the town, its people and its future. “I’ve dedicated my life to serving others, and that commitment will continue” on the board, she said.

 Fry said she understands how town government works and she knows how to build consensus.

 “I bring a balanced, practical approach focused on long-term solutions and the people who call this town home,” she said.