ON JUNE 22, Essex will be holding its election for ten town positions. One of them—to fill outgoing Board of Selectman Andrew Spinney's seat—is a race between Guy Bradford and Peter Hoare. On Wednesday, the Essex Merchants Association held a virtual “meet the candidate” session for member businesses.
There's a lot going on in Essex, from construction of the new public safety headquarters to the future of its local business and industry mix, housing and taxes and adequately serving a residential population that is both growing quickly and aging. And all this while facing new challenges of public safety and public health. We connected with Guy Bradford and Peter Hoare to learn more about them—their backgrounds, connections to Essex and the community, and their "front and center" issues that are driving them to seek a place on the Board of Selectmen.
A career corporate man, Guy Bradford moved to Essex with his wife, Karen, in 2014 after nearly two decades working for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., culminating as the company’s vice president of Global Supply Chain Compliance Officer. Professionally, Bradford had to work out differences between complicated regulations, logistics, corporate goals and partner agendas, so it makes sense that in retirement he’s looking to apply his unique expertise to issues facing Essex like tax rates, affordability, and the town’s biggest budget items.
In connecting with Bradford, we learned some interesting things, such as:
Listening to Bradford talk about his life coming to Essex, it’s clear he likes a project. And that’s exactly what he and Karen got when they purchased their 1724 Main Street colonial. Four years later, in 2018 Bradford tackled another project at the suggestion of a neighbor—public service, as a member of the Finance Committee. It’s been a learning experience for him to understand the unique workings of Essex, but it’s been a good one. And now, said Bradford, he’s ready to step it up to Board of Selectmen.
Jumping into town service by way of the Finance Committee offers a valuable look at management, said Bradford. After all, when you take a financial approach, issues become less personal. Over his career at American Eagle Outfitters, the ability to mediate and maintain a non-judgmental approach to issues, coupled with a dedication to peaceful and ethical business practices served him well, said Bradford. Breaking town operations down by expenditures, then looking at goals and creative ways to reach those goals financially is something that is critical, said Bradford, especially for a town like Essex. Not everything is financial, he said. But it’s a really good start.
First, Bradford wants to be a Selectman to be effective, and he believes his experience in compliance-related areas in his career have allowed him to recognize, understand, and help to reconcile differences that can be applied to the biggest board job in town. Money and reconciling budgets is a big part of the job, said Bradford, because uncontrolled spending is not realistic for a town like Essex (“our property base isn’t getting bigger”) and the town should care for longtime residents who cannot sustain ever-increasing taxes associated with increased spending and services. Much of the business of the BOS is driven by the fact that Essex has a relatively fixed annual budget. “There is little wiggle room,” he said, when one looks to fixed line items like Essex’ assessment for the Manchester-Essex Regional School District, which takes up approximately half the town’s annual spending budget. The school district, he said, is “the elephant in our room”. If voted onto the BOS, Bradford said he’ll be engaged and do a lot, and he’d like to start with taking a creative approach to the school budget and look at every area with a fresh eye. “There’s a thing called ‘budget plus’, when you start with the last iteration of your budget and ‘plus’ it by some percentage,” he said. “I think there’s an opportunity to start the bottom and start again. When you take a fresh look at things, it offers the opportunity to be creative, do things differently.”
Peter Hoare seems to be an easy-going guy but looking at the experience he brings to the race for a seat on the Board of Selectmen it’s clear he knows what it is to get things done, first as an entrepreneur and as an emergency medical professional. A serial entrepreneur, Hoare knows how to manage people, projects, and budgets in highly competitive fields. He was the director of business development at American Medical Response before starting EasCare Ambulance Service with several partners and serving as its Chief Operations Officer. He then started Sweet Paws Rescue locally with Cynthia Sweet in 2011 and two years ago he opened Barn Dog Daycamp on Southern Avenue in Essex. And he did this while serving as an EMT for the Essex Fire Department, which he signed up for soon after moving to town in 2012.
In connecting with Hoare, we learned some interesting things, such as:
Businesses seem to be in Hoare’s blood, something he can’t not do. Barn Dog Daycamp (“my retirement business”) is located on the six-acre property he purchased years ago, with an old, 1737 farmhouse that he renovated. Two years, in, it’s become a thriving business.
That’s no accident, it seems. Over 30 years in the emergency services industry, Hoare has navigated strong organizational success by mixing practical knowledge with strong management skills. The longest stretch, he said, was at EasCare, a South Boston ambulance company he ran with partners. When they started, the company had six ambulances and 30 employees. By the time it was sold in 2012, Hoare said, the company had grown to $25 million in annual revenues, with 100 ambulances and 600 employees. He was asked to stay on as Chief Operating Officer.
Hoare is a self-described “North Shore guy,” having lived most of his adult life in Rowley, Ipswich and, now, Essex. The energy in Hoare’s tenor can really be heard when he starts to talk about his love of Essex (“I feel so connected to Essex.”) One of the first things he did when he moved to town was join the Essex Fire Department as a volunteer EMT. Then, he turned his love of dogs (and animals in general) into a business by helping to start Sweet Paws rescue with his then-partner (and still close friend) Cynthia Sweet. Clearly, that love has continued into his current business. Hoare said both experiences—working with the Fire Department and starting two local businesses—has been invaluable in understanding the unique runnings and rhythms of a town like Essex. (Example: “I know what’s going on with senior housing and issues with seniors in town. I see it in person, regularly.”)
Hoare believes that his knowledge of business, finances, and the local area will help him to improve the community, which is why he is running for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. His priorities? First, the impact of COVID-19 on local businesses. “We haven’t had a lot of guidance from the state on money to the towns, and that’s a big problem,” he said. Second, Hoare said Essex has to focus on keeping real estate taxes under control, or risk losing residents who have lived in town 30-40 years. There are opportunities to be creative with budget issues and offer support. With COVID-19, he said, schools may not be open in a traditional sense and now is the time to look at creative opportunities to renegotiate items such as bussing contracts (since there may not be bussing).
“I’m a pro-business candidate,” he said. “I consider myself a ‘roadblock removal crew’. We need to help businesses in Essex be successful. For the health of our community.”
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Here are all the positions up for election, or re-election. Essex Town Clerk Pamela Thorne confirmed that besides the BOS candidates, there are two additional "new" candidate, Theresa Whitman who is running for School Committee and Lisa O'Donnell, running for Planning Board. All others are candidates for re-election.
Absentee ballots are available. And Thorne strongly encourages residents to use them.
