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Zehnder running for selectman
Banner Daily Update Mar. 11
By Derek Burritt
Banner Staff
WELLFLEET—With less than a week left for candidates to return nomination papers for this year's town election, only one race appears to be contested—that for a seat on the board of selectman.
With March 17 being the last day to return nomination papers for the May 5 election, only Ben Zehnder, a Wellfleet resident and attorney practicing out of Orleans, has taken out papers to run against selectman Dale Donovan, who has served on the board for roughly a decade and has turned in nomination papers to run again this year, according to Dareen Davis, assistant town clerk. As of press time, Zehnder's papers hadn't been returned.
Zehnder is typically associated with the high-profile property owners he represents, who tend to build controversially large homes within the Cape Cod National Seashore. If elected, Zehnder wouldn't be able to represent clients before any boards the selectmen have appointing authority over. So why does he want to limit his business?
“I could give fifteen reasons why I shouldn't do it,” Zehnder said in a telephone interview.
One reason he's throwing his hat into the ring is because he was born and raised in Wellfleet and is raising his 8-year-old daughter in town, he said. He's afraid that all the time he has spent advocating for his clients' rights has caused him to lose “long-term credibility” in Wellfleet.
“I want to be a citizen of the town,” Zehnder said.
Also, he believes the many town planning issues currently on the table need to be addressed by someone with both a historical perspective on the community and a young family. With few exceptions, the younger demographic is “under represented” on many of the town's boards and committees, Zehnder said.
As for the other positions up for reelection this year, only incumbents have taken out papers, including Harry Terkanian for town moderator, Terri Frazier and Morton Inger for the Wellfleet School Committee, Mary McFeely and Reatha T. Ciotti for library trustees, Betsy Patterson for the cemetery commission and Gary Sorkin and Paul Pilcher for the housing authority, according to Davis.
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Mar 6th, 2008