Alan Marden*
Candidate For City Council - North Adams NORTH ADAMS - Alan Marden was close to calling it quits after a 20-year tenure on the City Council.
He wondered if, after all this time, he was still an effective member of the council, if he still had something to give. As he mulled over running for an 11th two-year term, the response from his constituents was the determining factor.
"It was a pretty easy decision," Marden said. "A lot of people took the time to call me or approach me to say 'we want you to stay.'"
Marden, who's likely to become council president if re-elected, said he was humbled by the support. He said people know him and know what he stands for.
"I stand on my commitment and love of community, but my campaign slogan over the years has been 'common sense; uncommon experience," he said. "People can vote nine times, so I say 'give one to Al.' ... I'm not greedy."
The Worcester native came to the city 40 years for a job, and found a wife and home, too. "My first real estate investment in the community was in Southview Cemetery," he laughed. He and his wife raised two daughters here and now have five grandchildren.
Marden graduated from Bates College in 1963 and started out in journalism. He's worked in marketing and development for most of 40 years and now works for real estate developer Alton & Westall Associates. He joined the firm after a two-day "retirement" four years.
His background includes vice president for the former Northern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, executive director of the former Berkshire County Development Commission and of the city's Redevelopment Authority, and chairman of the Northern Berkshire Industrial Park.
Marden said he was paid by the county and city for many years and serving on the council is a way to give back.
He also was economic development director for two years for Mayor John Barrett III early in the mayor's term.
"We have a unique relationship of mutual respect," he said of his relationship with the state's dean of mayors. Marden said he and the mayor are able to listen to each other and disagree privately, and sometimes change each other's minds.
During Marden's tenure on the council, he's seen the city rebound from the disastrous 1980s, when the closure of Sprague Electric and other manufacturers put hundreds out of work and led to the closure of major retailers along Main Street.
"Community has changed so dramatically," Marden, recalling how the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art was an "outrageous idea" when he was first elected in 1987.
"We still have problems that we have to deal with," he said, describing the city's recovery over the years as "two steps ahead, one step back, like any community."
News of the coming development of the defunct North Adams Plaza is good news, he said, which should lead to more dollars flowing into the city. But it he described it as a double-edged sword, since those those dollars won't be flowing into the downtown. It's a marketing opportunity that Main Street merchants will have to rise to, he said.
He doesn't believe the city is unfriendly to business, a charge leveled by downtown merchants over the years. "I don't think that's valid," he said.
Marden conceded that the permitting process can be long and costly because of the city's requirements for appearance and maintenance, but "the end product for the community - and ultimately the business - has proven to be a good investment."
He'd like to see benches on Main Street but, "unfortunately there are some people that abuse that privilege."
He also approves the city's recent involvement in taking or purchasing buildings to facilitate their development, such as the Clark Biscuit mill and Notre Dame Church.
"We protected an asset until such time as the private sector can take it from us," Marden said, adding it was aggressive thinking on the part of the mayor and that the council's role is that of "enabler," reviewing and advising on such projects. "Some people criticize the council as being a rubber stamp but there have been times we've been critical."
If re-elected, he's looking forward to completing the final major project on Main Street - the Mohawk Theater. But even the recently downsized plan with require outside funding to some extent "and the private sector is shrinking somewhat ... that one's a little bit fragile."
Fiscal resources also are a major challenge ahead for the city. There have been modest tax increases over the years and the new developments on Curran Highway will help, but those benefits are still a couple years away, he said.
In the meantime, the city's been holding the line to keep taxes low, to point the budget is bare bones, or "mean and lean," depending how you look at, Marden said.
"We've really shrunk local government in staffing over the 20 years I've been around," he said. While city services have not suffered, it could become a problem as older, more experienced workers began retiring in the next few years.
If elected, Marden is likely to become council president, a position he's held five times before. "I think the other councilors look to me for advice. I think I've earned that, I think I've earned their respect," he said.
And to voters, he says, "let's keep it going." |
