Meet the Candidates: Doug York

Editor's Note: The following statement was submitted by Doug York, who is running for the Board of Finance. Interested in submitting a candidate statement? Send your statement of no more than 500 words with a photo to Jessie.Sawyer@patch.com. We'll run them in the order they are submitted. You can also start a political blog and post your statement there at avon.patch.com/blogs. 

There is an old Greek proverb “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”  

So it is with communities as well.  Yes, you have to manage the present, but you also have to think about tomorrow.  A community that is properly managed will grow, prosper, and, most important, give back to the citizens of that community.  Mismanaged and starved, a community will wither and decline.  

Though founded long ago, Avon is still a young community with its best days yet to come.  It is up to its elected officials to help bring that future about. The Avon Board of Finance, for which I am a candidate, can play a key role in shaping Avon’s future, providing they recognize that managing the finances of the community is about much more than squeezing budgets and investments.  

It is about having the vision to look beyond the numbers and help identify a course for Avon which will best serve the community today as well as tomorrow.  

Of course, we live in difficult times. We are reminded of that twice a day on the news and every time we pay our bills.  Sometimes we need to make difficult financial decisions. However, we also need to make the right decisions.  We need to remember that the value of a community (and, thus, the value of our homes) is about much more than a low tax rate.  It is about the vitality of the community, the quality of its schools and services, and it is about heart.  It is about making Avon a place where people want to live … it is about shaping a community that gives back far more than you put in.       

I am offering myself as a candidate for the Board of Finance because my background is in finance.  Since I received my MBA from Harvard University in 1983, I have accumulated thirty years of experience covering virtually every aspect of finance.  I know the value of sound financial management as well as the pitfalls of short-term thinking.  My work has taken me to 30 countries over five continents. I have seen what the human spirit and sound management can do … and I have the seen the opposite.  

I came to Avon 17 years ago.  I raised my three daughters here.  All three attended the Avon public schools, from Pine Grove to Avon High. Avon is home now.  Like all that live here, I want the best for my community.  Serving on the Board of Finance, I want to help Avon to embrace the idea of possibilities, rather than limitations, and to show others what a community can become.  It is not just good for quality of life, it is good finance.