OAKFIELD, Maine — While many of his peers worry about which classes to take or which parties to go to on the weekend, Oakfield native Taylor Locke has much bigger issues to consider.
Locke, 20, is like other college sophomores. He enjoys spending time with friends, learning new things and socializing. He worries about finishing homework assignments and ponders what the future has in store for him.
But unlike others his age, Locke also has more immediate, local matters to contend with as a member of the Oakfield Board of Selectmen. Locke was just 18 and a senior at Southern Aroostook Community School, when he earned a seat on the town’s municipal government board. He is in the middle of his first three-year term as a selectman.
“I have always taken an interest in politics and I have lived in Oakfield all my life,” Locke said. “I thought that this position would allow me to better my town and I would have the opportunity to represent the people I care about.”
Locke is in his second year studying business management at the University of Maine at Orono. While he lives in a college dorm room during the week, he makes regular trips home to Oakfield to attend to town matters. Technology also allows him to be readily available for his constituents via e-mail.
“It can be difficult at times, however everything usually falls into place,” Locke said. “I am always around on breaks and in the summer, so I am always very active during those periods. During school I do live right on campus, but I try to keep my Wednesdays open and I get done with class in time to attend our regular meetings at 6 p.m.”
“Taylor has been committed to the job that the people elected him to do,” said Oakfield Town Manager Dale Morris. “I believe that it’s great that Taylor showed the initiative to get involved and I think there are some other young men in Oakfield who have thought about running for selectman, which again I think is good and it’s healthy for society.”
Locke first became interested in politics when he attended “Boys State,” a leadership event for high school students that demonstrates the government process.
“This experience really got me interested in local government,” he explained. “I also closely followed the process Oakfield underwent with First Wind and I attended some of those meetings. I was also encouraged to run by my neighbor and friend Linwood Hersey who was on the board at the time.”
One of his biggest challenges thus far was working to enact a property maintenance ordinance for the town. The amount of work the board put in to come up with the ordinance is one of the things Locke is most proud of. “Basically it was designed to clean up properties that weren’t up to code,” he explained. “We formed a committee and came up with a document to present to the town. We held three public meetings and met some pretty stiff opposition. For the most part the debates were healthy and constructive.”
Ultimately, the town leaders opted to table the ordinance and not send it to a full town vote.
“In my opinion the document was very much needed and could have benefited our town,” he said. “Of course not everyone felt that way. I do hope however, to revisit the issue someday. My plan is to keep pushing for the removal of dangerous buildings and to encourage people to clean up their properties.”
Another challenge Locke faces on a regular basis is the amount of information he must review as a selectman.
“I am constantly learning about laws, procedures, surveying, assessing and much more,” he explained. “Luckily our town manager and my fellow board members have a lot of knowledge about these subjects.”
Locke has yet to decide if he will seek re-election when his seat expires in March 2015.
“I haven’t made any decisions regarding my re-election,” he said. “That may sound like a very political answer, but it is actually the truth. If I don’t run for re-election, I hope to serve the town in some other capacity, possibly on the Planning Board or the Budget Committee.”
He was also presented with an opportunity to testify in front of the Energy, Utilities, and Technology Committee in Augusta about wind power and the process the town of Oakfield underwent with its review of the local wind project.
“This was a unique opportunity where I was able to take the concerns and opinions of the people right to Augusta,” he said.
Could serving as a selectman in Oakfield be a stepping stone to a potential career in politcs?
“I do have aspirations for higher political office,” he said. “I would love very much to serve as a state representative or senator in Augusta. I’m very interested in politics and have been for many years. I like the free flow of ideas and opinions, people coming from different backgrounds, all working to get something accomplished. At least that is how government is supposed to work. I consider myself a moderate Democrat, but I think part of our problem at the state and national level is everyone conforms with party lines most of the time, instead of voting their convictions.”
Locke said many of his college peers are amazed that he is able to juggle college life and hold public office.
“Anyone I have ever told usually thinks that it is pretty interesting, but I would say they are usually taken aback by it,” he said.
He also experienced a small amount of apprehensiveness from the community when he was first elected.
“I do think there was some resistance to me being elected,” he said. “I believe that some people were apprehensive because of my age, and probably some were hesitant because they didn’t know how I would respond to certain issues.”
As is the case in many small towns, Locke said he heard rumors floating around about why he was elected to office.
“My favorite one was about me just being a figurehead and someone else was wielding power from behind the scenes,” he said. “All of these things never really had any effect on me. I’m doing this job to represent the people of Oakfield; to make our town a better place to live; to preserve it for the future; and to help solve its problems.
“Local government is, in my opinion, the best, most effective form of government in terms of serving the people,” Locke added. “Where else can people show up at an easily accessible meeting, give input and in some cases help set policy? I wanted the opportunity to be part of that process.”
