Nantucket first

When my campaign begins, I will not be handing out bumper sticker with my name on them.

Why? Because a campaign for Selectman is fleeting. Especially this one. And often times, stickers for a campaign will stick around long after the contest has been won or lost, and sometimes even beyond the campaigner’s term.

(When was the last time you saw a “Don’t be risky, vote for Isky” sticker? I saw a couple last week.)

So instead of handing out stickers that say “Sanders for Selectman,” (it sounds very weird to me!) I’ll be handing out these:



The message, obviously, is “put Nantucket first.” Hopefully, this simple icon on bumper stickers and t-shirts will help us all remember to ask ourselves some pointed questions in our daily lives. Are we making choices that are good for a small group, or for the island as a whole? Are we looking out for ourselves or our neighbors. How will this effect the community, and not just my small circle?

“Putting oneself first,” “looking out for number one,” “taking care of your own” had become a driving force for many people during the 90s (the “me” decade), and nowhere on earth is that more apparent than here on Nantucket. In a few years we have seen locals build small fortunes and seasonal people build monuments to large fortunes. We’ve seen the entire island landscape change. Some for the better, but some not.

My friends and family members who grew up here talk about a time when kids and dogs roamed the island freely. Everyone knew everyone. The streets were safe. This is not true any more. But maybe it could be if we wanted.

If we are going to survive as a community — if we are going to maintain a vibrant year-round population and grow our economy and protect the island’s quality of life — we will need to discard the old way of thinking and start putting our neighbors before ourselves.

Win or lose, if I can get this idea out into the community, then my run for selectman will have been a success.