Coming in Green or Ready for Action?
Ian Ackermann of Cabot is the new young voice on the Cabot Select Board. His wife, Caitlin, and their two sons enjoy the outdoors with Ackermann. Courtesy photo.
CABOT – Last Tuesday, during the first Cabot Select Board meeting since Town Meeting Day, Ian Ackermann was sworn in as the newest select person. In the election that took place on March 2, Ackermann was elected for a two-year term, beating out incumbent Ruth Goodrich by a vote of 467 to 86. Mike Hogan, another incumbent, was elected for a three-year term, also defeating Goodrich.
So far, Ackermann reports that his first two weeks as a member of the select board have been “Exactly what I thought it was going to be, except a lot more after-hours stuff.” Ackermann says that he has been going to select board meetings for months so that, in the event he was elected, he could be fairly caught up. While this helped, he admitted, “It’s hard going in green.”
Goodrich, for her part, was happy to see Ackermann take her seat on the board. “I think it’ll be very good. He’s younger, he’s a business owner, and he’s got a good sense about him. Good common sense about management of finances and that sort of thing, so I think he’ll do great.” Goodrich is excited for the extra time now that she’s not on the board and says, with her multiple businesses, gardening, and young granddaughter, she “won’t skip much of a beat.”
Ackermann and Goodrich are close. Both run sugaring operations in the area, and Goodrich played a role in getting Ackermann to run in the first place. Ackermann paid Goodrich a visit the day after the election and says they talked for two hours. Ackermann says, “I’m representing her now,” along with the rest of the town and “their opinion is what I’m pushing for.”
Ackermann is already taking to his new role in the town. The Monday after he was elected, what was supposed to be a quick in-and-out trip to the post office, turned into an hour-long conversation with his new constituents. “They were picking on me that I got all kinds of extra work to do,” Ackermann says. “A lot of them say, ‘What, are you crazy?’” But, he says, a lot of them also thanked him.
Goodrich expressed confidence that Ackermann will bring a valuable, and younger, perspective to the role. “Change is always good, more eyes on the subject,” she says, but notes that Ackermann will have to adjust. “From independent thinking to a five-person board, you need to compromise and to come out with what’s best for the townspeople.”
Ackermann takes on the new work and the new role with pride, saying, “Somebody’s got to step up.”
