IPSWICH — Voters will choose from among four candidates for two seats on the Board of Selectmen on May 20. One is a longtime incumbent, one has sought the office before and lost, and the other two are running for elected office for the first time.
Yesterday, The Salem News profiled the two newcomers, former police Chief Charles Surpitski and businessman Frank Wiedenmann.
Today, we talk to incumbent Pat McNally and business owner Ray Morley.
Patrick McNally
McNally, 60, is seeking his seventh consecutive term on the board. He has lived in town since 1976, moving here from Cambridge after an intruder broke down his door and stole all his belongings.
He doesn't expect much economic improvement in the near future and therefore anticipates the town will continue to experience belt tightening.
"We'll be looking to do things smarter," McNally said. "Maybe not trying to have perfection, just get by the next couple of years and hope it's a temporary situation."
Before devoting all his time to his private law practice, McNally worked for Civil Service at the national level. The agency bases all its decisions on merit, McNally said, and that's the way it should be with local government.
Despite his dim view of the economy, McNally supports the School Department's request for a Proposition 21/2 override for just under $1.5 million, but he doesn't second-guess people who oppose it.
"I've been relatively blessed, and I can afford it," McNally said. "Others will have to decide if they can afford it. A lot of people are extremely apprehensive right now."
He also supports the most recent proposal to solve chronic problems with the Central Street fire station by converting the building to office and administrative space, with an attached addition to house firefighting equipment.
"On that site — nowhere else," he said, adding this is not the year to be thinking about combining police and fire services in the same building, as has been proposed in the past.
Looking to the future, McNally said the town's No. 1 natural resource business is clamming, and that aquaculture will likely become more important. He also noted that protecting that resource and support of other environmental issues are among the accomplishments of which he is most proud.
"When I came here, most of the clam flats weren't open," he said.
He expects another challenge to be keeping employees paid well enough so they stay and offering salaries that will attract good job applicants.
Everything returns to finances, he said.
"The major challenge is how do we stay afloat without overburdening people."
Raymond Morley
Morley and his wife, Margaret, moved to Ipswich 36 years ago. Their four children are all Ipswich High grads who reside in town.
The couple lived on Pleasant Street for 22 years, then bought a four-family home on East Street they now run as an inn, Ipswich Bed and Breakfast.
For the last 16 years, Morley has served as a selectmen's appointment to the Finance Committee. He is the town's representative on the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Committee, spent 17 years as a call firefighter in town, and has held positions on the water, sewer and electric light subcommittees.
Morley, 65, has run two previous unsuccessful campaigns for selectman.
Like the other three candidates, Morley supports the request for a school override this year. That said, he thinks Proposition 21/2 has done its job, but that limitation on budget growth is now not keeping up with increases in expenses.
Morley said one of the reasons he decided to run is that current board members are not providing leadership.
"They need to do the job people elected them to do," Morley said. "I don't think they've been demonstrating that leadership. They cannot continue to let special interest groups dominate their decisions to the detriment of the community as a whole."
He also supports locating a renovated and expanded fire headquarters at the current, Central Street site, noting it probably provides the most cost-effective solution to upgrading the station.
Morley said he thinks there are still savings to be had in the town budget, but identifying new sources of income is just as important.
"We have to constantly look at the bottom line and cut, cut, cut," he said, adding he doesn't think the town is being run as lean as it could be.
"We need to identify areas of waste," he said.
Among the challenges in the coming years, Morley noted that maintaining streets, sidewalks and town buildings are priorities.
Morley said he values the opinions of town employees and thinks they need to be heard from. On the other hand, he said he has a hands-on management style, and if he sees a town employee doing something he thinks is wrong, he would document the activity and speak to the person.
The bottom line?
"I'm running because I can make a difference," he said.
