The chief executive officer of a coastal Maine community is winning high praise for tackling an ugly problem long in search of a solution that state officials ignored.
Nathan Poore, town manager of Falmouth, puts to rest the narrative that bureaucrats are useless bumps on a log, with all due respect to bumps on a log.
Poore immediately went to work helping get rid of unsightly graffiti on Mackworth Island.
He took charge of a problem when frustrated taxpayer Frank Thiboutot didn’t know where to turn.
Thiboutot, at the end of his rope, had recently contacted The Maine Wire seeking help eradicating the graffiti.
For years he had spent a lot of time and energy trying to find a public official who would actually try to resolve the vexing issue.
“You’d think that the environmentalists who promote the value of a pristine environment would be upset at the graffiti on Mackworth Island in Falmouth,” Thiboutot wrote to The Maine Wire earlier this month.
After more than two years trying to get government officials – most notably lethargic state bureaucrats – “to remove these eyesores, nothing has been done,” Thiboutot said.
“This may seem like a minor matter in the whole scheme of things considering that our overall statewide infrastructure is crumbling,” he added. “However, it goes to the heart of what a public servant is supposed to be. The citizens are the ones who should be calling the shots, not the bureaucrats. But, obviously, that ship sailed a long time ago.”
Enter Poore, who agreed to look into the problem rather than taking the easy bureaucratic route by saying it wasn’t his issue since Mackworth is actually state property.
“I just spoke with someone who is very familiar with the graffiti,” Poore Thursday told The Maine Wire after looking into a resolution. “It has become a burden that they are working on.
“They have been scrubbing it when they have time,” he added. “It seems as though the side that wasn’t tagged has been recently. They indicated it became a problem about three years ago. I will forward your email to them, and they will send it to management so that they are aware of the complaint.”
Poore became the Falmouth manager 20 years ago following his managing Kennebunkport for six years.
Eleven years ago he was named Maine’s top manager by the Maine Town, City and County Management Association.
Poore said at the time he didn’t “instantly become a town manager with success,” but said it took many years of learning from many people, including his staff, past and present town councilors, other communities he has served, and peers in other communities.
“It’s all of those folks that have made me who I am,” he said, while also thanking his family for their support.
Poore began his career in management as the town administrator of Fryeburg in 1992. He then managed Raymond and then Kennebunkport.
The Maine Wire award for A Bureaucrat Who Actually Cares goes to Nate Poore.
The graffiti may not be gone overnight but at least a bureaucrat is actually trying to solve the problem rather than brush it off.
“I agree,” Thiboutot said.
