In 1975, Roger Wey and his family moved from Bridgewater into the home he'd built in Oak Bluffs. "I was in the construction field," he says, "and the Martha's Vineyard Commission had a moratorium then on new home construction. Here I was wanting to start a business, and there was no business. If you were a small contractor, it was difficult, especially when you were new to Martha's Vineyard."
Such a beginning could have fostered a resentment of the regional agency that tells builders what they can and cannot do. But it's typical of Mr. Wey to have been able from the beginning to see beyond his personal predicament to the public good.
Roger Wey is stepping down this year after serving seven terms as an Oak Bluffs selectman.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
Mr. Wey says, "I understood the reason why. That's one of the reasons I moved here, you know what I mean? I understood that they wanted to preserve Martha's Vineyard, they wanted to slow things down and think about what was happening, where everything was going. This was part of the reason I chose Martha's Vineyard."
In January of 1976, Mr. Wey was hired to build a house, and from then on, he says, "I was busy all the time."
His move to the Vineyard was also part of a conscious decision to leave the high-pressure world of city construction projects. Before moving here, he worked as foreman or superintendent on such large Boston projects as the Providence Bank and Burlington Bank buildings and the Sheraton Boston Hotel, supervising hundreds of union carpenters. But he saw the toll that work took on men, and says, "I just didn't want to see myself burn out like that."
But you could say Mr. Wey traded one pressure-cooker for another by stepping into the political arena in Oak Bluffs. This year, after serving seven terms as selectman in Oak Bluffs, Mr. Wey is stepping down.
It helps to have a certain toughness to serve in Oak Bluffs politics. The tires on Mr. Wey's car have been slashed, and some people in town still won't speak to him because of stands he's taken over the years. Still, he speaks of the town he loves as a place where civic discourse, if sometimes feisty, is robust.
"Our town meeting went four nights in Oak Bluffs last year," says Mr. Wey. "Some people said, four nights - I can't stand it. I said, of all the town meetings I've attended in Oak Bluffs, that was the best, because of the participation. There was no healthier town meeting, in my opinion."
Oak Bluffs isn't like Edgartown, where a selectman can serve an entire career without facing an election challenge. Says Mr. Wey: "Every election, there are challenges - which is healthy." He speaks from experience: In his last run for election in 2006, Mr. Wey edged Christine Todd by just four votes in a hand recount.
Mr. Wey developed his political style in seven years on the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals before joining the board of selectmen. He recalls the controversy that flared when he voted against a family's proposal to place a windmill on their property near the Lagoon: "I had concerns about okaying this without some rules and regulations, so I voted against it. And it was like voting against motherhood. There was controversy in the newspapers, but I just held my ground. And I'll always remember Dr. Rappaport coming up to me and saying, 'I'll tell you, I don't agree with what you did, but you've got a lot of guts to hang in there.' That really stuck with me throughout my political career - that if you believe in something, you've got to stick with it and carry it through."
Mr. Wey had plenty of opportunities to stand his ground over the years. In the four-year battle over developer Corey Kupersmith's plan for a private golf course on the Southern Woodlands property, Mr. Wey was a key player as the lone voice of opposition on the board of selectmen. During that battle, he was at first the only advocate on the board and later one of two (with the election of Greg Coogan) who opposed the effort to pull Oak Bluffs from the Martha's Vineyard Commission.
"Now," says Mr. Wey with pride, "the Southern Woodlands are always going to be there. Nobody's going to take it away, nobody's going to develop it. That's a piece of land our grandkids can enjoy."
One of Mr. Wey's guiding principles through 21 years as a selectman is embodied in the advice, "Don't take it personally." To this he adds another adage: "The only way out is through." He explains, "You've got to be able to take the bumps. You've got to be willing to compromise. And if you don't take it personally, you can survive. If you're outvoted, you're outvoted, and you move on. And don't let anything fester. Deal with it right away. If you've got something to say to somebody, say it. Get it out of the way."
Looking ahead to the challenges his successors will face, Mr. Wey says, "I think one of the main issues facing this whole Island is going to be affordable housing, to keep our middle class here. I mean, we don't want to have everyone who works here coming over on the boat every day."
For the past four years, Mr. Wey has worked as director of the Oak Bluffs Council on Aging. He used all of his building skills in leading the charge to expand the senior center on Wamsutta Avenue, and he's proud of the new facility. He's also well known on Martha's Vineyard as organizer of the East Chop road races that raise money for charities each Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Thanksgiving.
"The gratification is the same as what I've gotten from being a selectman - it's the gratification of helping people," says Mr. Wey. "What are we here on this earth for, if we don't make our mark by helping somebody?"
Nis Kildegaard writes a monthly column, Soundings, for The Martha's Vineyard Times.
