Three candidates vying for two seats on Oak Bluffs board of selectmen

Only one contested race on the ballot.

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From left: Walter Vail, Mike Santoro and Brian Packish are running for two seats on the Oak Bluffs board of selectmen.

It’s spring in Oak Bluffs, and political signs of different colors are blooming all over town in advance of this year’s election on April 13.

This year’s colorful crop of signs is from selectmen incumbents Walter Vail, and Mike Santoro, and from two-time candidate Brian Packish.

The Times asked each candidate why he thinks he should have a seat on the board, and also asked the candidates for answers to specific issues in town.

Mike Santoro

Mike Santoro is seeking his third three-year term on the board. He currently serves as chairman of the Roads and Byways committee, vice-chairman of the Oak Bluffs Harbor Advisory committee, and serves as selectmen’s liaison to the Oak Bluffs Fire Department.

Mr. Santoro is the proprietor of the Lookout Tavern, Fishbones, and Ocean View restaurants.

Why are you running for office again?

Being a selectman and serving Oak Bluffs has been very rewarding. I take great pride in serving our town, and we’ve accomplished a great deal in the past six years. There is still much work to be done. We need to keep the town financially stable while we address our infrastructure needs. Some of the goals for the coming term will be to obtain grant funding for coastal infrastructure — specifically North Bluff Beach nourishment, East Chop Bluff repair, and increased beach nourishment on all town beaches. We also have to expand our wastewater plant, continue to develop a park-and-ride, create affordable housing, expand bikeways, find a solution for the Island Theater, and revitalize the downtown and harbor area by following through on the Downtown Streetscape project.

I own three businesses, and employ over 70 people. This requires skills in communication, financing, budgeting, and personnel management, and I bring these skills to my job as a selectman. My businesses are all in the downtown area, which helps me to stay in touch with the pulse of the town. At my businesses, my motto is “family.” We are one big family, and we work together and treat each other with respect. The town is my family, and I will always treat it with the respect it deserves.

In your capacity as selectman, how can you, as an individual and as part of a board, help address the housing crisis?

I had the pleasure of attending the HPP (Oak Bluffs housing production plan) community workshops. Over the course of the three sessions, I learned that we as selectmen can work with our own town committees — the affordable housing committee, planning board, community preservation committee, zoning board of appeals, and wastewater commission — as well as with other towns, and we can certainly make a difference.

I support the expansion of our wastewater plant, and I think some of the expanded capacity should support affordable housing. I support changing zoning bylaws to support expanded housing growth, and using CPA funds to finance local and regional housing initiatives.

If the nonbinding article on banning moped rentals gets strong support at town meeting, how would you as selectman help carry out the will of the people?

We all would like to see mopeds go away. The courts unfortunately disagree, ruling that we cannot eliminate moped licenses. I can say as a selectman that signs off on licensees that we will not allow mopeds to be rented or used on town properties. I will only vote to issue a license when the town bylaw requiring a test track in place is met. As we learned, there is no “grandfather clause” in the bylaw that waives the requirement to have a test track for current licensees. Also, the new safety measures implemented by the “SARA” group will need to be met, and all fees and proper paperwork will have to be submitted, before any license is issued.

Do you support the proposed $200,000 appropriation for repairs to make the Island Theater safe?

I will not support the $200,000 to temporarily repair the theater. Repairing it will only allow it to stand for another 10 years or so. The building is beyond renovation. The money would just be a waste. I will support the monies being used to tear down the building, but only if there is a beautification plan for the property after it’s torn down. At the same time, I would continue talks with the Hall family right up to the time of action. Repairing the building is just enabling more time.

Walter Vail

Two-term incumbent Walter Vail has served on the board for the past six years. He also serves on the board of directors for Hospice MV and MV Housing Fund. He’s chairman of the Dukes County Personnel Board and the Healthy Aging MV oversight board. He also serves on the County Advisory Board and the Town Hall Building Committee.

He has a background in finance, and owned his own mortgage-banking company in New Hampshire until retiring in 2008.

Why are you running for office again?

I am running for a third term because I enjoy what I am doing; I enjoy the challenge of working on making Oak Bluffs a better place, and learning more and more about municipal government. No matter what we accomplish, there is always more to do, and I want to be a part of those projects.

In your capacity as selectman, how can you as an individual, and as part of a board, help address the housing crisis?

The affordable housing issue has not been addressed with any noticeable results, either by our affordable housing committee or the board of selectmen. After the election, and if I am elected, I want to devote more attention to the action plan as put forth in the HPP, but I believe that the selectmen will need to take a lead role in moving the plan forward.

If the nonbinding article on banning moped rentals gets strong support at town meeting, how would you as selectman help carry out the will of the people?

The moped issue for Oak Bluffs will come to a close, I hope, at our selectmen’s meeting on April 24. So far, our hearings have been very helpful in determining the answers to the complaint filed by the Mopeds Are Dangerous Action Committee. Even if the voters overwhelmingly vote to ban mopeds, we do not have the power to either ban them from Vineyard roads (by state law), or to totally rid Oak Bluffs of rental companies (per our legal opinion), no matter how we all feel about mopeds being unsafe or not wanting mopeds on Island roads.

Do you support the proposed $200,000 appropriation for repairs to make the Island Theater safe?

Regarding the Island Theater, I initiated changing the warrant article to read “razing the structure,” rather than spending the $200,000 just to make it safe. I have been a strong supporter for several years about forcing the theater to be demolished. The theater is an eyesore and an embarrassment to Oak Bluffs.

Brian Packish

This is the second time Brian Packish has run for selectman. In 2015, he ran against incumbents Greg Coogan and Kathy Burton. Mr. Packish came in third behind the two incumbents, with 501 votes, failing to unseat Ms. Burton by only eight votes.

Mr. Packish has served on the Oak Bluffs Planning Board for four years, three of those years as chairman. He has served as Downtown Streetscape Committee chairman for two years, on the Roads and Byways committee for three years, and on the sign committee for three years. He is a lifelong resident of Oak Bluffs. He owns a landscaping company.

Why are you running for a seat on the board of selectmen?

I am seeking election to a seat on the board of selectmen to bring a voice for the taxpayer to the board. In my duties on other town boards and committees, I have a track record of public outreach and inclusion. Transparency is a key ingredient to a successful government. I believe new energy is needed to engage and empower the people of Oak Bluffs.

I was raised in Oak Bluffs, and have a history with the people of this town. I have been involved in town government since I was a child — it’s hard not to be, with five previous selectmen in my family. I have served the town in various capacities for a number of years, and I’ve worked firsthand with all town boards. I believe being a lifelong resident and a small business owner, and having a child in our school system, have helped connect me to the community in a unique way.

If you were to be elected, in your capacity as selectman how could you, as an individual and as part of a board, help address the housing crisis?

During my time at the Planning Board, we were able to secure $700,000 for the Oak Bluffs Housing Trust through special permit negotiations. The Oak Bluffs Planning Board has helped drive the Island-wide conversation for the housing production plans (HPP). I have been a participant in the Housing Bank warrant articles, in an effort to create a means to fund Island-wide projects and to help preserve the Land Bank in the process. It’s important for us to find ways to fund housing initiatives without creating an additional burden on the taxpayer.

If the nonbinding article on banning moped rentals gets strong support at town meeting, how would you help carry out the will of the people?

I have worked closely with all sides of the moped discussion, and support rental mopeds being removed from Martha’s Vineyard. I will support any measure that enforces our bylaws and Massachusetts General Law.

Do you support the proposed $200,000 appropriation for repairs to make the Island Theater safe?

I have serious concerns about the theater repairs. I am concerned about using taxpayer dollars to fund repairs to private property. I am also concerned that if we “stabilize” the building, it will sit unoccupied even longer. I believe we needed to ask the people what direction they would like to take, whether it’s repair, demolish, or attempt to purchase, and to honor their will. There is no question we need to move forward on this, for safety and economic reasons.