Fourteen candidates are running for nine seats on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. The Gazette emailed questions to all the candidates asking them about their reasons for running, qualifications, and to speak to the unique mission of the 41-year-old regional planning agency.

Richard James Toole
Town: Oak Bluffs
Occupation: Carpenter, caretaker, 
property manager

Reason for Running

I am seeking a seat on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission because I am very much concerned about the future of the Island. My wife Marney and I have lived and worked here as full time residents of Oak Bluffs for over 40 years. In that time it has changed a lot, not all for the good, but it continues to be a very special place and a great place to live. I am concerned that as prices for almost everything continue to escalate our children and our parents, our plumbers and our teachers, our nurses and our social workers, basically our support system will no longer be able to live here and be part of our special community. I am afraid it will become more and more a haven for the rich with no deep ties to the community.

The commission has tremendous powers and resources to protect not only our fragile environment but our even more fragile community. We need to create an economy that is less focused on tourism and a very short season and more on one that is year round and balanced.

Qualifications

I have a BS degree in forestry and resource development. I have a wide range of skills working on boats and houses for over 40 years and with a wide range of people who love the Vineyard. I have served on the Oak Bluffs ambulance squad the Oak Bluffs conservation commission, the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals, the Oak Bluffs land bank advisory board, the Oak Bluffs energy commission, Oak Bluffs representative to the Cape Light Compact and Cape and Vineyard Electric cooperative. I have served on the MVC in the past as chairman during the golf course hearings. I was president of the board of the Vineyard Conservation Society for three years. I am currently involved in housing and water protection issues.

I am a passionate believer in working regionally and addressing issues as a package. You cannot have tunnel vision, everything has an effect on something else. This requires attending a lot of meetings, but helps you make better decisions.

Commission’s Unique Mission

The MVC has done a good job over its lifetime. Without the MVC, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and the many nonprofits that we have, our community would be very different. It is this very success that continues to draw bigger and bigger crowds here.

The MVC needs to focus more on the future and not spend so much time dealing with brush fires. It should reevaluate its planning role, update its comprehensive Island Plan and work with local leaders to implement those ideas before it is too late. Being an Island, we are especially vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise. Planning for this needs to be a top priority, along with water quality and affordable housing.

The MVC has the ability to motivate and organize people and towns to work together on these bigger issues. This cannot be us against them. We need to work together. There will be no perfect solution but we need to try things and if we don’t get it right the first time, reevaluate and try again.

Available Time Commitment

As much time as it takes.