E19: Today’s guest is Robert Small, Former Mayor of Amherst. Rob was Mayor of Amherst from 2008 to 2015 when he decided not to reoffer. He was also a Town Councillor from 1994 to 2000. Rob was born and raised in Amherst, has spent most of his career in Town, and raised his three sons here too.
I asked Rob to come to talk with about how individual people can get involved in Municipal Politics and how Municipal Politics are significantly different than the other levels of government. I want to start talking about how individual people can advocate for, and push to make the changes that they want to see in our community. I know that coming out of the Coronavirus situation we have the opportunity to talk about and act to make the changes we want to see, or to keep things the way they were. We have the ability to act to make this happen. But, I believe for many reasons over the last 30 to 40 years we have lost the skills, ability, confidence or knowledge on how to do this. With the Municipal Election in October of this year it's important for us to start thinking about what we can do individually. I want to start talking about this now.
In this interview Rob and I talked in depth about how municipal politics is the closest to the people and has to be the most responsive because of the services it provides. Also the Mayor and Councillors are more accessible than a lot of other politicians. Rob and I delve into detail on the difference between the Committee of the Whole meeting and a regular Council Meeting. We spend a lot of time talking about how people can and the importance of making their voices heard. Rob tells us how the idea for the Community Credit Union Business Innovation Center came out of some of these meetings, and what happened at a Town Council Meeting 25 years ago when the Town moved forward with switching the Garbage Collection System in Town. Rob also introduced his steps for advocating to the Town and Council, and explained how the Atrium Project spurred him to get involved in Municipal Politics.
We covered a lot about Municipal politics in this interview and barely made a dent in all the questions I have about Municipal Politics. This is a must listen for people thinking about or wanting to get involved in the next Municipal Election.
I want to take a minute to share my gratitude for everyone who has left a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts for us. I am grateful, these reviews and ratings help more people find us to share our local news and stories. If you have a moment, would you leave a review and a rating for the show?
Links from today’s Episode:
Town of Amherst Council Meetings –
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