Meet the town council contenders

Four residents race for three Barrington Town Council seats

By Josh Bickford
Posted 9/23/20

The candidates for Barrington Town Council are focused on a variety of issues and priorities, ranging from repairing the East Bay Bike Path to ensuring that Barrington remains accessible to people of …

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Meet the town council contenders

Four residents race for three Barrington Town Council seats

Posted

The candidates for Barrington Town Council are focused on a variety of issues and priorities, ranging from repairing the East Bay Bike Path to ensuring that Barrington remains accessible to people of all means and backgrounds.

Annelise Conway said her decision to run for one of the three available council seats was actually based on the need for diversity among council members — gender diversity.

Currently the town council features three men and two women, but with Joy Hearn and Kate Weymouth not running for re-election and three other men running for the open seats, she realized that there would be a lack of women on the council.

I felt like I had to run, Ms. Conway said during an interview late last week.

Ms. Conway said diversity — in various areas — is important. She said diversity among Barrington's residents is important; it is a key priority for her that Barrington remains accessible to people who have lived in town for decades and want to remain here after their children have grown up and left home. And she wants to make sure young families just starting out can afford to move to Barrington. Ms. Conway said she wants all people to feel welcome here.

Ms. Conway said she grew up in a Massachusetts town that slowly changed over time, eventually its housing stock becoming so expensive that many people are now unable to move there, completely priced out. She served on Barrington's Housing Board of Trustees also, and sees a need to ensure a diverse stock of housing for people of all means.

Ms. Conway said she has also been closely following the situation surrounding the town manager's decision — and the current council's support — for flying the Black Lives Matter on the town hall flag pole. She said the town would be best-served by adopting an official policy regarding flag-flying, adding that it needs to be fair and equitable for all people.

"It's important to make sure all voices are heard," she said.

Rob Humm is also running for Barrington Town Council and shares Ms. Conway's call for inclusivity. He said one of his top priorities is strengthening the community and it is important for all residents to feel they are part of the town.

"… we need to be inclusive of our neighbors and fellow community members, and be accepting of all races, ethnicities, backgrounds, viewpoints, and other personal characteristics and beliefs that together make up our wonderful Town. I will help to promote that. We are all part of the same community," he wrote on his website.

Mr. Humm said he is also focused on supporting Barrington's local businesses. As chairman of the town's Economic Development Commission since it was first formed, Mr. Humm said he has worked to improve the business climate and help local enterprises succeed.

During a recent interview, Mr. Humm spoke about the EDC's efforts to help Barrington businesses weather the pandemic.

"It's been really challenging … they've worked really hard to stay afloat," he said.

Mr. Humm said that as a council member he would plan to continue helping Barrington's businesses. He also spoke about an upcoming virtual forum the EDC helped organize designed to benefit local businesses.

Carl Kustell is also a member of the town's EDC and is proud of the work he and the commission have done. The council candidate said one of his top priorities is making sure Barrington maintains its trajectory, meeting the goals of the town's comprehensive plan, "despite the recession." He said Barrington's leaders over the last 15 to 20 years have worked to improve Barrington village center. Mr. Kustell said he would not want to see the town's character change — he said he opposes big box stores such as Walmart from opening in Barrington.

Mr. Kustell said he supports the continued push to make downtown Barrington more walkable.

Mr. Kustell said that once the town emerges from the recent recession, he would focus continued work on resiliency, making Barrington greener, and making the streets safer by building more sidewalks.

Mr. Kustell said environmental issues were important to him. He mentioned the town's plan to work with a renewable energy aggregation company, and hoped that the town could rely more heavily upon local renewable energy sources in the future.

Diversity was also very important to Mr. Kustell, who added that improvements could be made in Barrington on that front. A member of Barrington's Pride committee, Mr. Kustell said he also supported the town manager's decision to raise the Black Lives Matter flag on the town hall flag pole.

Council candidate John Alessandro said that he would like to see the Barrington Town Council spend more time on governing and less time discussing social issues. He said that the current discussions about diversity and other social topics are very important, but should not overshadow the other work needed to run a town such as Barrington. He mentioned the uncertainty of the state's budget and how it could impact Barrington, and the need for certain infrastructure improvements, including the East Bay Bike Path. Mr. Alessandro said the closure of the two bike path bridges have resulted in dangerous travel for walkers, bicyclists and joggers as they navigate the Barrington and Warren river bridges.

Mr. Alessandro also called for the town to move away from partisan politics — he said it is time to make all elected positions in Barrington non-partisan. Mr. Alessandro is running as an independent, while Ms. Conway, Mr. Humm and Mr. Kustell are all democrats.

Mr. Alessandro is a former member of the school committee and felt that his work on that board was negatively impacted by party politics.

"It was toxic for my family," he said.

Also, Mr. Alessandro said he attended — via Zoom — the most recent council meeting and was troubled by how long the meeting ran. He is not alone. Mr. Kustell said attending a 6- to 7-hour council meeting can serve as a barrier to entry for some people. He said that if the council wants better participation from the public, it cannot hold a meeting that is three times longer than most full-length feature films.

"I think you have to have discipline to move forward on issues," Mr. Kustell said.

Ms. Conway also recognized the length of the recent council meeting and questioned whether it might be a better idea to hold more meetings that run for lesser time. She mentioned the idea of potentially placing a time limit on council meetings or possibly changing the format for meetings.

Mr. Humm said 6- to 7-hour council meeting was "a bit excessive," adding that it could have been the result of the council's tradition of holding fewer meetings during the summer months.

John Alessandro

• Party: Independent

• Civic experience: Former member of the board of assessment review; former Barrington School Committee member, current member of the Committee on Appropriations.

• Family: Married to Leslie Lynne Saylor; raising three children and a rescue dog, a greyhound named Hope.

Carl Kustell

• Party: Democrat

• Civic experience: Serves on Barrington Economic Development Commission; involved with the committee to ensure that the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag will be raised above Barrington Town Hall and local schools every June.

• Family: Married to his wife Melissa; raising their three sons.

Rob Humm

• Party: Democrat

• Civic experience: Current chairman of Barrington Planning Board; current chairman of Barrington Economic Development Commission; member of Barrington Heritage Hall of Fame Selection Committee; member of Leadership Rhode Island; executive board member of Friends of Brown Basketball; president of Roger Williams University School of Law Alumni Association.

• Family: Married to Kara; raising their children, Reese and Bowen.

Annelise Conway

• Party: Democrat

• Civic experience: Former member of the town's Housing Board of Trustees; board member of NCCJ of the Triad - a nonprofit focused on building compassionate and just communities free of bias, bigotry and racism (board); executive leadership team member for Onward -  a network of fierce women standing together against hate and injustice; board member of CASA of King County (board member); and board member of HIV Vaccine Network Trials Advisory Board.

• Family: Lives in Barrington with her husband Ian, two children Maylie and Rory, and two dogs: a golden retriever, Magnus, and a King Charles, Seamus.

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