Bristol-Warren Election Profile: David Matheson

BRISTOL-WARREN, RI — David Matheson is running for a seat on the Bristol-Warren regional school committee. The 42-year-old has been a Warren resident for more than a decade, after transplanting to the Ocean State from New Brunswick, Canada.

Matheson is a software engineer who is a newcomer to politics. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Science from the University of Toronto and lives with his wife and two children, who attend Mount Hope High School and Kickemuit Middle School.

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Campaign website

https://www.warrenvotedave.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

To provide an analytical, data-driven approach to returning to school safely and tackling budgeting issues.

What do you believe should be done to contain the coronavirus pandemic, and what would you do to lessen its economic impacts?

I believe that students should start with distance learning in the fall, with a phase in of hybrid return, and then full return, based on benchmarks of daily case load, testing & contact tracing capacity, vaccine development, and resulting in-school infection, if any. Any in-person instruction should be accompanied by as much mandatory mask wearing and distancing as possible. Every phase should include the option for parents to keep their kids home if they choose.

In the distance learning or hybrid scenarios, a greater economic burden would be placed on parents who we need to look after and help educate their kids at home. A strong state and federal intervention would be needed to help those parents access childcare, or to provide subsidies for parents who choose to stay home with their kids.

Do you believe systemic racism is a problem in America generally and Rhode Island specifically, and if so, what would you do to combat it?

Yes, both generally and specifically. Besides educating my own children in anti-racism, I support curriculum that empowers kids to learn about the history of discrimination up to present day, and how to combat it in their daily lives.

Should the words "Providence Plantations" be removed from the state's name?

Yes

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I bring the even-keel, analytical approach that typifies software development. No other candidate is equipped to help schools modernize their technology and understand STEM in a way that an experienced engineer can.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have run a coding club at Kickemuit Middle School for two years. This year, with grant money from the Bristol Warren Education Foundation and donations from a prominent Rhode Island business, we have equipment that enables a group of 8 kids to learn a modern-day programming language while interacting with Minecraft.

I oversee large-scale application development teams building software used by tens of thousands of people. Finding compromise among large groups, mediating solutions for complex problems with competing interests, that's what I do on a daily basis.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

In adult relationships, apologies come in pairs.