Aquinnah's Choice: Wright or Rose?

There's been no trash-talking and no mud-slinging rhetoric around Aquinnah's only contested race: a three-year term for selectman.

After all, both candidates, two-term incumbent Camille Rose and longtime up-Island tribal and civic leader Beverly Wright have known each other for 30 years or more and work in nearby shops.

“My God, I don't know how long we've known each other,” Rose told Patch.

Wright concurred. “I've know Camille for 30 years and we have a good relationship—we just don't talk about politics,” she laughed.

Elections will be held Wednesday, May 11 between noon and 7 p.m. at the Town Hall on State Road.

Rose, a two-term incumbent selectmen, is essentially running on her record. Wright projects as a new pair of eyes looking at town affairs. Both are grandmotherly in appearance, but strong and not shy.

Wright believes more regionalization and affordable housing are topics to be explored. She's not a fan of forcing overnight change. “I'll stop and listen," said the former chair of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). "We have a new town manager and I want to get acclimated to the way things run, talk with the other two selectmen. My job is to give input based on conversation with the community.

“We need to establish more dialogue between year-round residents and seasonal residents—a blue-ribbon committee, perhaps. We have a bare-bones budget. If we need something we can't afford, let's see what seasonal residents think about [supporting] it.”

Wright thinks regionalization is in the cards, but knows it's a long-haul project. “My parents were active in planning the regional high school when I was a kid. It took years and years to complete. Regionalization takes putting egos aside—and time. We've got Tri-Town ambulance now. It's a start.”
 
“I'd like to tackle the whole idea of regional services between the three up-Island towns, particularly," Rose told Patch. "Some are not glamorous, purchasing goods and services all three towns use, for example. We could save a lot of money.

“I am very concerned about appropriate siting for the federal wind turbine project. There is no need to site it in our own backyard. We can nudge it offshore and still get all the benefits.

"I am more convinced of the real benefits of green energy initiatives, both for building and energy-savings for residents. I'm exploring the 'stretch' code concept, which requires new home construction to include energy-saving methods and systems. Vineyard Power has an interesting solar project that might save the town a lot of energy cost.

“Those are the most important things to me. It would be great to have new library and a new community center, but we can't put taxes through the roof.”

The selectmen's race is the only contested contest in this year's town elections.