To the editor: Tim Roper asks for your vote for seat on the Chester Select Board

I’m Tim Roper and I’m running for a one-year seat on the Chester Select Board. I hope you’ll vote for me on Tuesday, March 5.

I’ve been involved in the community for the 30 years I’ve been in Chester, from coaching and refereeing youth sports to serving on the Planning Commission for the past seven years, as well as learning about the needs of the schools from my wife, who has served on the school board.

Working as an owner and employee of various small and startup businesses, I have experienced the challenges facing small businesses in Vermont. This understanding shaped some of my activities on the Planning Commission, where I helped remove barriers to local businesses.

My decisions were also shaped by my life as a hunter, birder, gardener and amateur naturalist; I know that we cannot take Vermont’s beauty and bounty for granted.

I believe that housing is currently Chester’s most pressing issue. A community cannot thrive without affordable housing, including both home prices and rents. With today’s record high housing prices, we must use every tool available to ensure that people can afford to live work, and raise their families here. We’ve started to address this issue, but more must be done.

It is important that we all remember that the primary role of government is providing services to and protections for the people. That holds true at the national level, all the way down to our town government, all of which should be based on a vision of providing for the greater good of the people of our nation, of our state and of our beautiful town.

Raised by a single mom who understood both the importance of self-reliance to deal with life’s obstacles and also of the value of help from friends and family when the going gets tough, I learned that when we listen to each other and work together — even when we don’t agree — we can find ways to solve whatever problems we face.

I look forward to continuing to represent the citizens of Chester as we work together to make our town a little better place each year. I hope I can count on your vote on Tuesday, March 5.

Tim Roper
Chester