The Town of Rockport will be holding a Special Municipal Election Tuesday, August 30, to fill an unexpired term for the Select Board. The vacancy was held by John Strand, who has resigned. The term will expire on the June election of 2024. The polls will be open at the Town Office from noon to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are available August 1. The last date to get an absentee ballot will be at the close of the business day on Thursday, August 25. All absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on election day, August 30.

In advance of the election, Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their position on issues important to the town and region. Here, Candidate Ralph “Doc” Wallace discusses his position on various topics.

1)  Please provide a short biography of yourself and explain why you decided to seek a seat on the Select Board.

We are New Englanders – by choice.

My wife, Haunani, a native Hawaiian, and I have lived and worked in four wonderful New England communities in three New England states: Connecticut, Vermont and Maine –  indeed “the way life should be.”

We are lifelong educators. I have had the privilege of teaching at every level on the education spectrum. I have taught at the primary, intermediate, middle school, high school, and college levels. I have served as superintendent of schools in three large New England school systems. In the course of my service, I was appointed to the National Blue Ribbon Schools Panel, and, in the course of that appointment, evaluated and verified outstanding schools of excellence from Maine to Texas.

With this life experience and my background in working with local, state and national governments, I believe I have a perspective that can serve you well as a select board member for our town.

Parenthetically, I must add that I am not interested in being a career select board member. I simply want to serve the remainder of the vacant Rockport Select Board seat to bring my perspective to the crucial issues which face Rockport at the current time.

2)   What are the three most pressing issues facing Rockport today, and how would you like to see them resolved?

1. The RES site.   This issue is a punctuation point in the legacy of Rockport. The prospect of a small park surrounded by high-density affordable housing would do irreparable harm to our quality of life. I support a high-quality parks and recreation concept – ballfields, tennis and pickleball courts, exercise track, seasonal skating rink – surrounded by a small gym and very limited commercial space much like the community-appropriate café/bistro across from the RES site.

2. The Camdenization of Rockport.  Camden is a thriving, quality town, but while “emulation may be the sincerest form of flattery” I believe Rockport is best served by maintaining its low-development, parklike character. In addition to the RES concept above, while I support the new hotel, I am opposed to the expansion of our little “downtown” into a bustling, commercial tourist center. I serve on the town’s Harbor Committee which has approved only minimal commercial operations. I hope we will never see the day when there are so many floats, piers and mooring balls that one could almost walk across the harbor.
3. The structure of our property taxes needs scrutiny. Two thirds of our taxes go to education. After an additional 6% is taken by Knox County, the town is left with a paltry 29% for the oversight and administration of the entire town. With such limited resources, the Select Board is faced with a near-impossible challenge of meting out services which are sorely needed by ALL of Rockport’s neighborhoods. While I have no intention of being a surrogate school board member, is it unreasonable for our Select Board to expect the same quality of rational budget request as that which other cost centers are required to give? In my professional work described above and examining high-performing schools across the country, I have a very clear perspective on how quality schools systems are funded.

3)  How will you protect the Rockport taxpayer as you shape and govern a municipal budget, and juggle various interests that request municipal funding throughout the year?

To the wisdom and careful oversight of the current Select Board, I will add a conservative, priority needs scrutiny to husband the frugal 29% of property taxes that are under the purview of Rockport’s administration.

4) Housing is at a premium for most middle class working families, and like most other places in the country, Rockport has few homes or land parcels left for families who want to put down roots in town. What should Rockport do to encourage alleviate housing pressures? Adjust zoning to encourage housing density? Allow accessory dwellings on residential lots? Encourage affordable housing? 

This issue is an intriguing one for Rockport. Although the town is geographically larger than Camden, it is much smaller in population and commercial activity than Rockland and Camden. Nevertheless there is a strong feeling by some that tiny Rockport must be the affordable housing solution for the Midcoast.

I believe that Rockport has an obligation to do its proportional share in meeting this challenge.

Furthermore, as a wise citizen opined at the last RES public discussion, affordable housing must be affordable. That means the tenant must be able to afford it. It does not mean that the town must afford it. It strains credulity to assume that somehow a town has an obligation to provide a single family home for everyone who is employed in the community – much less for anyone employed on the Midcoast. So yes, perhaps zoning changes might help, but there is still ample land in Rockport for developers to create housing which can be afforded by a workforce on a market basis. 

5) A housing project with 18 units, and 28 bedrooms, is under review by the Rockport Planning Board for former physicians offices on Route 1. Across the highway and closer to Hoboken, a gymnastics facility is also under review for construction. Housing developments have been sited over the past decade further down Route 1, and there will certainly be more. This means more pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The Camden-Rockport Pathways Committee and the 2004 Rockport Comp Plan both urge the town to place more importance on pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure for the sake of public safety and public health. What are your thoughts on this issue?

I appears to me that the 18 unit project is a well-intended concept that needs a reality check. In addition to the lack of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, there is perhaps a more important lack of service infrastructure at the site. No one would likely be opposed to more pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure all along Route 1,  or Route 90 for that matter, but I remind you of that paltry 29% funding base.

6) Should the sewer system be expanded along Route 90 to West Rockport?

Absolutely. Firstly, it is a matter of fairness to our citizens in West Rockport. Secondly, it would provide needed infrastructure for the housing development described in question 4 above.

7) How do you see Rockport positioned in the larger regional Midcoast economy?

I have answered that question in the context of my opening statement. I believe Rockport currently has a good balance of community and commercial activity. In fact, without the “Camdenization” of our town, I think Rockport actually punches above its weight in the larger regional Midcoast community.

8) What is your opinion of the NewHeight idea that presents 84 housing units on the RES parcel?

Already answered in question #2. Unmitigated disaster for our quality of life.

9) What are your thoughts on the current impasse with Camden concerning wastewater disposal? And what is your assessment of the idea of building Rockport’s own facility, as opposed to sending wastewater to Camden and Rockland?

I am absolutely shocked by this impasse. First there is more than adequate capacity to serve the needs of both towns. Secondly, I see this impasse based solely on a technical/financial difference of viewpoint. Someone, either in Camden or Rockport, needs to be the adult in the room, pick up the phone and say, “Where and when can a small delegation from each of our towns meet and come back to our respective Select Boards with a win-win solution?”

9) There is a longtime perception that Rockport Village receives more financial investment and attention from the town than the other areas of Rockport — Glen Cove, Rockville, West Rockport and Simonton Corner. Do you find that to be the case? If so, how should the town address the imbalance?

Bingo! This is the heart of my “campaign” in working to get a seat on the Select Board. My lawn sign says it all: “Doc” for ALL Rockport.  This “Village – West Rockport” division has got to end. The town of Rockport is comprised of a quaint harbor village, rolling green hillside neighborhoods, and a bucolic countryside. To me this diverse combination represents the best of all worlds and the reason we ALL love our town. While talking to people in West Rockport I have heard complaints of unequal treatment by the town – such as inadequate restoration of roads after last year’s Halloween storm. Yes, we have that pesky 29% funding issue to deal with, but everyone pays their fair share of property taxes and roads must be repaired and serviced equally across the town.

10) Should the town build a parking lot at the head of the harbor near the Goose River Bridge, as currently proposed?

Is there a town in New England that can smugly sit back and say, “Welcome to our town – totally free of parking limitations.” Rockport is like most others; we need more parking. I am only tangentially knowledgeable about this concept. I am really skeptical about the number of spaces proposed for that limited area. However, I won’t be a politician on this. Yes, I would favor it – if the design was architecturally in conformance with our historic harbor, and if its design is incorporated into the much-anticipated new bridge .

11) Would you like to see the Goose River bridge overhauled or rebuilt, and Pascal Ave. reconfigured?

Reconfigured. Beyond the structural issues, the off-bridge path at the south end has a bad sightline that causes motorists to dangerously cross the center line. 

12) Where is your favorite place in Rockport?

Easiest question of all – the Children’s Chapel!

13) Free space! Please add additional thoughts as you see fit.

Throughout my career, friends and associates have said to me something along the lines of, “Doc – you don’t act like a superintendent of schools.”

When I ask why they say that, the answer is along the lines that, “You don’t have that august, serene, executive demeanor.” So be it. That’s me.

Quick story: While serving on the national panel, I had the incredible honor of having a few moments of eye-to-eye conversation with Ronald Reagan in the Rose Garden at the White House. Then, as a panel member months later, I was invited to an early breakfast with Steve Forbes in his New York private dining room with three other guests. Great stuff. But let me tell you about a “culinary moment” that beat that.

Still, months later, one morning my secretary rushed breathlessly into my office and stated, “Dr. Wallace, you have something that no previous superintendent has ever had!”

More than curious, I said, “Gloria, what is it?”

She responded, “You have been invited to the custodians’ summer picnic!”

The next Saturday, I ambled down to the river park with a six-pack of beer and a bowl of potato salad, and spent the rest of the afternoon flipping hamburgers and swapping war stories with 40 of the most under-appreciated and hardest working men and women one could ever be with.” That might be as important a reason to earn your vote as any other.  Thank you.     . . . .

. . . . .   “Doc”    a.k.a.   . . . .   Ralph Wallace