I have been a full-time resident of Rockport for 20 years. I have served on various ad-hoc committees and have been serving as chairman of the Rockport Budget Committee for the last three years. Through many joint meetings I acted as the representative of the whole committee's ideas in crafting the annual budget with the town manager and the select board. I believe I know the board's workings and its members as well or better than most. 

This is an unusual election, where a majority of board seats are in contention. As such, the board may change radically and unexpectedly in its makeup and philosophy. What has been a balanced but not uniform board, has talked out every critical or contentious issue. What might seem like over-talk to people for whom an issue is clear, actually serves a good purpose — to get everything out in the open, to avoid surprises.

At the center of this process is Bill Chapman, our Rockport Select Board chairman. Always prepared, always willing to listen to his fellow board members and to the audience, always cautious and thoughtful for the town's best interest. In this time of continual financial and other strains, trying to balance the voters' needs and desires with the future of Rockport, I urge you to reelect Bill Chapman, the steady center that the town needs. 

Jan Rosenbaum lives in Rockport