Restore balance to the Planning Board

You probably don’t know that I stand between two worlds.

I grew up in a Williams faculty family that was nurtured by campus life and expressed its appreciation by creating a fellowship fund that carries our Lawrence name and is still awarded to Williams students.  However, I chose to pursue an education in architecture, and I work with those who labor with tools in their hands. I came to value and respect both worlds. In Williamstown today, however, the relationship between them is strained.

Over the last 10 years I have watched the dialogue between the town community and Williams College steadily deteriorate in quality. For decades before that the conversation was a good one. I grew up here and I saw it. We need that mutually respectful conversation to return. Most critically, there is a groundswell of concern in our community that the College’s development agenda is damaging the town and eroding conditions for workers and their families in the community. Underlying that is an ill-defined fear that powerful decision makers don’t care.

Williams College is over-represented on our Board. I say this because it is what countless citizens have told me and they want this matter discussed openly and honestly. As a result of this influence, decisions of the Board majority sometimes reflect College interests at the expense of other, independent parts of our community. While the College certainly deserves and must have a seat at our table, its current dominance of our conversation means that the Board is unbalanced. To restore that balance we need independent voices to represent those who currently have none.

Historically town and college have had a very constructive and mutually respectful dialogue. I have been watching it for half a century. With my long-standing roots in both communities, I feel well positioned to restore that relationship. Further, we have the perfect opportunity right now to better serve and understand each other. Williams has a recently new president who is getting to know us. I have seen her act with courage, intelligence, and grace. We can reforge the bonds that have connected these two communities for more than two centuries. Let’s make it happen.

I believe my life experience positions me well to help repair and strengthen this relationship and move both the town and the College forward. That’s why I’m running for the Williamstown Planning Board. And that’s why I ask for your vote on May 11.