Marc Ratner explains his reasons for running for Camden Select Board:

My name is Marc Ratner and I’m running for the open seat on the Camden Select Board.

Why?

Because I think those of us fortunate enough to live in Camden are among the luckiest people in the world and I believe that donating time to help keep our wonderful town strong — financially, intellectually, artistically and commercially is as worthwhile as almost anything else I do.

I have a strong business background. I was a vice president at Warner Bros. Records in Los Angeles and worked there for 15 years. I was a part of the promotion team that brought the music of Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Green Day, Alanis Morrisette, Chicago, Madonna, ZZ Top… and Frank Sinatra… and so many others to the public. I also was an executive at DreamWorks Records and worked closely with a new group of artists, including Nelly Furtado, Rufus Wainwright, Citizen Cope and others, developing their careers.

Los Angeles is also where I discovered my love of public service. I joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as a reserve deputy (28 years). Although I trained and worked in patrol, my passion and main occupation was working with one of the department’s search and rescue teams.

We were on call 24 hours a day/365 days a year and when the pager went off — often late at night — whenever I and my other team members could we responded to calls for help — stranded climbers, hikers lost in the mountains, Alzheimer patients, missing children, etc.

I was trained as an EMT and was certified in search and tracking, rock rescue and snow and ice rescue.  Often I’d respond to a rescue call at 2 a.m., work through the night, come home, clean up and head to the office.

It taught me a lot about public service.

When my son was born, my wife, Kim, and I started talking about moving to Camden, our long time vacation spot (and also the location of our wedding).

I first started vacationing in Camden in 1981. I first lived in Maine in 1959 when my father taught at the art school in Skowhegan.

As a friend in Camden told us — who had moved here from New York City —  “we moved to Camden so our child could be a kid longer.”

We did, as well.

I had already started my own independent music artist management and record company, Mishara Music, so the move made so much sense. We wanted to be a part of a community that works together to make sure that the town serves all its citizens and concentrates on, as I stated above, being strong financially, intellectually, artistically and commercially, and finding the correct balance in that.

Not long after we moved to Camden, my wife started volunteering for the Camden Library book sales, where she met and introduced me to Don White. I saw that my entertainment experience would be a good match for helping at the Camden Opera House, so when the town listed an opening for an Opera House committee member I joined on.

For the last few years, I’ve been the chairman of the committee and have worked to make sure that we bring entertainment to the Opera House that serves all of the people in Camden and the surrounding area and at all price points so there are affordable options for everyone.

I championed the Family Film Series that we offer in the winter — classic family films like Willy Wonka, Annie and Frozen, where the cost is only $5 a ticket with a family cap of $15 and worked out an arrangement with Camden National Bank to provide free popcorn for the movies. 

This way a family of four or five can have a family afternoon at the movies with popcorn for only $15. This is important in a town where many can afford things beyond the reach of most people but there are also so many that need a helping hand.

I’m also a member of the Camden Energy Committee. We’re looking closely at ways both newfangled and old fashioned to save on energy costs. On one hand, we’re looking to establish an affordable solar array that will cut the town’s electricity costs and, on the other hand, looking at something as simple as insulation at the town office/opera house building to cut heating and air-conditioning costs.

I recently joined the committee to research a better solution for the Camden–Rockport Middle School. The school needs to either be restored or built anew. The committee understands that the voting option that was rushed out earlier in the year was too expensive and the decision to build a new school was not explained in a manner where people would understand the need at such a cost.  We’re exploring the earlier decisions about the middle school and also looking at ways, if we do need to build a new school, to lower the cost to the citizens to a more reasonable and understandable level.

In addition to those official town duties, I’ve spend the last few years attending a majority of the select board meetings so I could better understand the complexities that the town and officials have to deal with.

Nothing is black and white these days. I learned long ago it is often better to ask questions and listen to the answers and learn from that then it is to come to an issue with a set agenda.

Because many of the members of the select board have been serving for many years — they have a considerable amount of knowledge, which is good in many ways, but I feel that it sometimes hinders them in asking new questions and looking at a proposal with fresh eyes.

I’ll need to ask a lot of questions and do some serious listening.

I also will need to look at things from many different perspectives.

I’m a small business owner; budgets are important. I have child at the elementary school who will move to the middle school next year; education is important. Yet because I’m an older first time dad, I will be eligible for Medicare and Social Security in the not too distant future; budgets are very important.

I look forward to serving the community of Camden.

If you have any questions for me – please email me at marcratnercsb@gmail.com and/or check out the Facebook page I’ve started to discuss my campaign and town issues. The link is https://www.facebook.com/marcratnercamden

Thanks for the consideration.

If I’m elected to the Camden Select Board, I’ll do my best to justify your vote.