I called John the other day  to ask if he wanted to  say something. He quickly dashed off this note with a few musings.

There will be a post later with more of  his thoughts on some specific questions. Feel  free to post any questions you may have  for John.

Mike

My name is John T. Childs, and I have decided to run for a position on the Board of Selectmen for the Town of Exeter. I was born and raised in NH. During my career, it has been necessary for me to move my family away from Exeter twice, but I always returned to this area because it is what I feel is home. I have been a tax payer in town for over 25 years. Both of my daughters, Kate and Whitney, are graduates of Exeter Area High School and have excelled in their respective college endeavors and careers. At this time in my life, I feel I can balance the demands of a full time job, community service and my personal life so that is why I am running for this office.

I have no aspirations for other public office. My goal is to serve the needs of the majority of the citizens in Exeter, people like me who have jobs and find it difficult to pay additional taxes/fees in a tough economy. My view is that the Board of Selectmen should provide direction to the Town Manager and department heads. These full-time employees are paid to do a job that they should know well. It is not up to the Board to micro-manage them, however, if they do not respond to the collective goals set by the Board, they should be replaced.

Too often I read that decisions that should be made by the Board of Selectmen are deferred and left to be addressed at a later time or it is said “we’ll cross that bridge when we have to.” It is time for the Board of Selectmen to make the tough decisions to move Exeter forward. You can not worry about every special interest group that is vocal at informational meetings. As a Selectman, you are elected to make the tough decisions for the town’s long term benefit. As the economy improves, there will be increasing demands to supplement services or reinstate services that have been eliminated. My position is that the Capital Improvement Program budget should get top priority so the town moves forward again. It cannot all be accomplished at once. Priorities should be set with the help of trained outside consultants, as necessary, and a schedule established that is realistic and that can be financed.

I will run a simple campaign for the Selectman’s position. I do not plan to litter your neighborhoods with signs or your doorsteps with useless literature. I will make myself available for the election functions and establish a web site and an email account to answer any specific questions you may have.

Does anyone really feel we need additional public TV access at a cost to rate payers? Whatever happened to the YMCA that everyone I know thought was a key piece to Squamscott Commons?

John T Childs

CV 2011