The election season is now upon us, and in Tiverton we now know who the actual candidates are. I sincerely hope they have all given a lot of thought to the commitment they are making, particularly for those running for town council. Make no mistake, it is a very significant commitment of both personal time and personal resources, both mental and physical. It will most certainly have an effect on your personal and family life. There will be times when you will ask yourself “What was I thinking” when you ran for office, and other days you’ll be glad you did. If elected you will need to decide fairly quickly which type of councilor you will choose to be.

Will you simply attend meetings, or most of them, and do little more than vote on measures when required? Will you do the research needed to make an informed decision? Will you do a bit more and volunteer to be a liaison for one or more of the many town boards and commissions, without which this town could not function? Will you volunteer to be a member of council sub-committees that are necessary to do much of the work needed to finalize projects? Will you respond to the many requests you will receive on almost a daily basis from your constituents? Bear in mind that all Tiverton residents will be your constituents, not just your friends and associates.

Will you be willing to speak out on issues even when what you say is not popular, or will you duck and cover and be careful never to advance or support a controversial opinion? Will you be willing to cross swords with your fellow council members when necessary, but also be willing to compromise? Are you ready to produce a budget every year that takes into account the wants and needs of all our town departments and citizens, or will you be a one-trick pony with only one agenda in mind which takes precedence above all others? Are you ready to accept almost daily criticism, some good and some bad, from anyone in town?

Keep in mind that some of this will come from those who actually voted for you, some will come from the many who did not, and a lot will come from those who did not vote but simply want to complain, usually on Facebook. Also bear in mind that being elected implies a term of service to all, not just a mandate to deal with any list of things of personal importance to yourself. I have served on the town council for four years, and four years on the budget committee before that, and am now leaving voluntarily because I don’t believe that anyone should make a career out of elected office. I am grateful to those who entrusted me with representing them and hope I have not let them down and actually did some good.

All I can say is that I did my best. To those who are elected in November, I wish you well and hope that you will adhere to the principal of service to our town and its residents above all else. As for me, I have no idea how I’ll deal with all my free time in future!

Jay P. Edwards

Current (soon to be former) member Tiverton Town Council