(June 16, 2016) Late last year, Zackery Tyndall and the Berlin Fire Company settled a two-year harassment suit that Mayor Gee Williams said, “created a wound” within the town.
Now, Tyndall, 26, and a recent Salisbury University graduate, says he would like to be the next Town Councilmember in Berlin’s District 2.
Tyndall was born and raised in Berlin, living on Grice and Grace streets, before buying his own home at the age of 20.
After wrapping up the lawsuit in October and graduating from SU in December, Tyndall says he is in something of a “transition period.”
“I feel almost like I’ve been put in a can, shaken around a lot, and then dumped out on the other side. It’s still a little difficult to find my way,” he said during an interview last Friday. “Now I’m just out on the other side trying to figure out what I like. I graduated with a degree in management and finance, so I have a passion for that.
“I think when you go to school you learn that there’s so much more to learn. If I could find something that would give me a deeper understanding of how businesses operate, I would enjoy that a lot,” he added.
Berlin citizens will vote on Oct. 4 for representatives in District 2, District 3 and for mayor. Williams announced his intention to run for reelection in a letter to the editor earlier this year, and it is believed that current District 2 Councilmember Lisa Hall will also run for that seat.
It is not known if District 3 Councilmember Elroy Brittingham will run again.
“At this time, I think I’ll be running unopposed,” Tyndall said. “I don’t know exactly what [Hall’s] plans are, but I don’t think she’ll be running for District 2.”
He said he planned to file the paperwork this week. As of Monday, no one had filed for any of the seats, according to Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen.
“As far as my platform goes, I would mainly like to focus on fiscal responsibility, economic development and marketing,” Tyndall said. “I think we can do some more things with our public access channel, maybe make it a little bit easier for the media and some of the elderly people in this town to be able to have access to the meetings.”
Rather than see the actual footprint of city limits expand, Tyndall said he would prefer to “focus on what we have a little bit more, as opposed to constantly expanding,” he said.
“We have people that want to expand the town further, extend the boundaries. I don’t want us to end up like Salisbury,” he said. “I’ve heard people wanting to expand to gain more tax revenue, [but] I like what we have. There’s a lot of infrastructure that needs to be invested in. We have roads that are terrible. There are different sidewalks areas that need investment. Overall, I think we need to focus on the Berlin boundaries as we know it.”
Tyndall sees serving on the Town Council as an extension of the volunteer work he has always pursued.
“I’ve always had a knack for wanting to help the community,” he said. “I was with the fire department since February of 2006 and I finished that up in 2013. I’ve always loved giving back to the community – this is just a different way that I can give back.”
During the last year, he and his fiancé have attended virtually every Town Council meeting in order to get up to speed on the issues. He said he has built strong relationships with town staff, as well as others on the council, and does not believe the lawsuit with the fire company would create a conflict of interest.
“I’ve not had any trouble with anybody in the town. Even members of the fire company and I get along very well,” he said. “I hold no grudges. I remained professional throughout the whole ordeal, and I don’t see anything but professionalism moving forward.”
Growing up in Berlin and seeing some of its lowest points, Tyndall said he’s astonished at how far the town has come, as especially evidenced by the thriving downtown. In a way, he wants to help preserve that progress.
“I remember as a kid, going uptown we had Rayne’s Reef and the [Atlantic] hotel wasn’t much. It wasn’t as vibrant as it is now,” he said. “It’s so nice to see all the different restaurants and peddle our bikes through town and see all the live music – that’s the stuff that we need to continue downtown – continue bringing in all the unique businesses and find people that keep the town going.
“And maybe a little youth [on the council] would be nice,” he added. “We have an older council – there’s nothing wrong with that and they have the experience of years beyond mine. But some youth is always good – some fresh ideas, some fresh blood and a little bit of fight is a good thing.”
Now, Tyndall, 26, and a recent Salisbury University graduate, says he would like to be the next Town Councilmember in Berlin’s District 2.
Tyndall was born and raised in Berlin, living on Grice and Grace streets, before buying his own home at the age of 20.
After wrapping up the lawsuit in October and graduating from SU in December, Tyndall says he is in something of a “transition period.”
“I feel almost like I’ve been put in a can, shaken around a lot, and then dumped out on the other side. It’s still a little difficult to find my way,” he said during an interview last Friday. “Now I’m just out on the other side trying to figure out what I like. I graduated with a degree in management and finance, so I have a passion for that.
“I think when you go to school you learn that there’s so much more to learn. If I could find something that would give me a deeper understanding of how businesses operate, I would enjoy that a lot,” he added.
Berlin citizens will vote on Oct. 4 for representatives in District 2, District 3 and for mayor. Williams announced his intention to run for reelection in a letter to the editor earlier this year, and it is believed that current District 2 Councilmember Lisa Hall will also run for that seat.
It is not known if District 3 Councilmember Elroy Brittingham will run again.
“At this time, I think I’ll be running unopposed,” Tyndall said. “I don’t know exactly what [Hall’s] plans are, but I don’t think she’ll be running for District 2.”
He said he planned to file the paperwork this week. As of Monday, no one had filed for any of the seats, according to Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen.
“As far as my platform goes, I would mainly like to focus on fiscal responsibility, economic development and marketing,” Tyndall said. “I think we can do some more things with our public access channel, maybe make it a little bit easier for the media and some of the elderly people in this town to be able to have access to the meetings.”
Rather than see the actual footprint of city limits expand, Tyndall said he would prefer to “focus on what we have a little bit more, as opposed to constantly expanding,” he said.
“We have people that want to expand the town further, extend the boundaries. I don’t want us to end up like Salisbury,” he said. “I’ve heard people wanting to expand to gain more tax revenue, [but] I like what we have. There’s a lot of infrastructure that needs to be invested in. We have roads that are terrible. There are different sidewalks areas that need investment. Overall, I think we need to focus on the Berlin boundaries as we know it.”
Tyndall sees serving on the Town Council as an extension of the volunteer work he has always pursued.
“I’ve always had a knack for wanting to help the community,” he said. “I was with the fire department since February of 2006 and I finished that up in 2013. I’ve always loved giving back to the community – this is just a different way that I can give back.”
During the last year, he and his fiancé have attended virtually every Town Council meeting in order to get up to speed on the issues. He said he has built strong relationships with town staff, as well as others on the council, and does not believe the lawsuit with the fire company would create a conflict of interest.
“I’ve not had any trouble with anybody in the town. Even members of the fire company and I get along very well,” he said. “I hold no grudges. I remained professional throughout the whole ordeal, and I don’t see anything but professionalism moving forward.”
Growing up in Berlin and seeing some of its lowest points, Tyndall said he’s astonished at how far the town has come, as especially evidenced by the thriving downtown. In a way, he wants to help preserve that progress.
“I remember as a kid, going uptown we had Rayne’s Reef and the [Atlantic] hotel wasn’t much. It wasn’t as vibrant as it is now,” he said. “It’s so nice to see all the different restaurants and peddle our bikes through town and see all the live music – that’s the stuff that we need to continue downtown – continue bringing in all the unique businesses and find people that keep the town going.
“And maybe a little youth [on the council] would be nice,” he added. “We have an older council – there’s nothing wrong with that and they have the experience of years beyond mine. But some youth is always good – some fresh ideas, some fresh blood and a little bit of fight is a good thing.”