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Ashland is unique in today’s political landscape. Ashland Mayor Faye Prichard, who is proud to be a Democrat, is equally proud that Ashland politics are non partisan. And that, she explains, is the way it should be for Ashland residents. Faye was elected to Ashland Town Council in 2002 and was elected by the Town Council to serve as Mayor since 2004. Here are Faye’s views as Mayor, as a Democrat, and most importantly, as an Ashlander.
 "Ashland is totally unique. It doesn’t run candidates based on party lines, but based on who is going to do the best job for the Town of Ashland. No one party is going to get your sidewalks repaired and streets paved. So in the best interest of the town, we try to put party politics aside and generally, we succeed in doing that. Sometimes, there seems to be an effort to change that from outside influences, but I think we love our town so much, no one’s willing to put party over people.
There are several major issues we face, and some of them are pretty complicated. In a nutshell, these issues are: land use, redistricting, balancing affordable housing with traditional housing, and the economy."
Land Use
"One of the largest issues for us is land use and how will the property left in Ashland be developed responsibly. There is the constant tension between how to develop responsibly and retain the small town character that people love and count on. At the same time, we have to develop and sustain an economic base that allows us to maintain and live in this town that we love. For every project, we look at two key things: is it in keeping with the character of the town and is it sustainable. You look at a developer’s proposal and think, will that be here in 20 years, and if it is, will it still add value, or will it be something we’ll be embarrassed by or our children will be embarrassed by, or something we’ll have to fix. The question is how we can be good stewards of our community."
Affordable Housing
"We get people who talk to us about building more affordable housing and more of what is called, workforce housing. But in many ways, Ashland already carries the weight of a lot of affordable housing. So we have to balance the need with the responsibilities the town is already shouldering. On the one hand while we’re very successful in meeting the needs of people in low income housing, we still have to balance attracting the kinds of businesses and development with offering services to people who need them. Sometimes, that is a difficult decision."
Redistricting
"We tout Ashland as the Center of the Universe. In many ways, we take this claim seriously. It pulls us together. And so, the Town Council has unanimously made it clear to the county that we are opposed to having Ashland split into multiple voting districts. This idea comes up from time to time. But Ashland’s cohesiveness is part of its charm and character. We speak as one voice to the county. It’s an issue of continuity and our being able to be the best advocates for our citizens. Residents don’t always know whether town or county should take care of something for them. It gives us more leverage when we work with the county on an issue of concern to Ashland residents. Just logically, if the entire town of Ashland comes under one supervisor, the Town of Ashland is a pretty large percentage of that supervisor’s constituency."
The Economy
"Ashland has had its share of troubles resulting from the economic downturn. But we don’t see businesses shutting their doors every month. Housing was phenomenal here before the bubble burst…there were times when houses never got to the market before they were sold. Now we certainly see houses sitting for longer periods of time before they sell. But we have not had a tremendous number of foreclosures and we haven’t lost a tremendous number of businesses. We have had positions we’ve not filled; we have laid off one employee. But compared with other localities, we are doing well. We have budgeted carefully and wisely. We’ve had the benefit of some excellent financial forecasting in the town. One thing we can be very proud of is that we have not had to cut services. That is not something that can be said in every locality. Certainly we’ve had some folks affected by layoffs. We know we have citizens who are hurting, especially our folks who work in construction who are working less or sometimes working more for less. I see everybody struggling from folks in blue collar jobs to owners of big businesses who are doing with less. But I don’t think we’ve seen any kind of massive problems with unemployment in the town."
Ashland Mayor Faye Prichard |
