ROCKLAND, Maine — Experience, knowledge and concern are all crucial for effective local government, according to incumbent City Councilor Brian Harden.
Harden, running for his fourth term on the council, said he brings all of those elements to the table and that is why he hopes residents will re-elect him on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
“I think I understand a lot of what our problems are and what we need to do to keep ourselves progressing,” Harden said Monday. “To be successful, not just surviving.”
Stabilizing property taxes is part of that, he said, as is having a realistic view of the city budget and a continued emphasis on economic development.
“I have a positive vision of Rockland. I’ve always had,” he said. “People always use the word ‘renaissance’ when they talk about Rockland. But it’s not a renaissance. That’s the wrong word. We’re adapting to change. I think that’s very important — when Rockland needs to, we change.”
Harden said he has seen a lot of changes over the years. He’s a Rockland native who left to attend the University of Maine and then Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. But the fast-paced city lifestyle was not for him, he said.
“I wanted to come back to New England, and mostly, I wanted to come back to Maine,” he said.
Once back, he threw himself into committees, history projects and the Reading Corner on Main Street, where he has been the business manager for 31 years. He also has been active in the Rockland Congregational Church, has worked for 30 years on the Maine Lighthouse Museum and now serves on the board of Main Street Maine.
One of the city’s biggest challenges is the fact that it is a busy service center, he said. The daily influx of thousands of people puts a lot of pressure on Rockland’s police, fire and public works departments, Harden said, which are primarily paid for through property taxes. If re-elected, he plans to lobby the Legislature to allow communities to change the way sales tax revenues are shared. Harden said he also will work with the school board to get them to “hold the line” on their budget.
“I really think we all have to try to work together to have some reduction in the bottom line of these budgets,” Harden said.