Two candidates, including the mayor, are competing for a City Council seat in Rockland this fall.
Retired physics professor David Statman is running against Mayor Nicole Kalloch for the council’s only open seat in the election.
Statman said his goals as a councilor would include helping the city to prioritize environmental sustainability as it tries to develop more housing and do other work, while Kalloch said she wants to continue the council’s efforts to improve access to affordable housing and update roads and other infrastructure.
The election is scheduled for Nov. 5.
David Statman
Statman first started living in Rockland on a part-time basis in 2017 and is now a full-time resident after retiring from his position as a physics and physical chemistry professor at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.
While he has never served in public office, he’s been the president of his Rockland synagogue for years, as well as the treasurer for the Good Tern Co-Op and a director for Area Interfaith Outreach in Knox County.
In general, Statman said that he would like to use his analytical and critical thinking skills to look for sustainable and affordable solutions for housing in the city, and to make sure to enlist experts when he doesn’t know the answers himself.
“I don’t have the answers. I have the questions,” Statman said. “I want to bring in the people who have the answers, and I want to listen.”
He also suggested that the city’s zoning could be modified to encourage sustainable housing and the implementation of heat pumps.
As an avid cyclist who was gravely injured in an accident, Statman said he also wants to make Rockland safer for pedestrians and cyclists, such as by implementing traffic calming measures, redesigning streets to make them safer and seeking funding for that work.
Additionally, at 69 years old, Statman said that he has a better understanding of what issues are affecting older residents.
Nicole Kalloch
The mayor, who is 36, has lived in Rockland for nine years and currently oversees accounting for her husband’s contracting business, J.K. Kalloch. She is seeking a second term on the council.
In a press release, Kalloch outlined changes she has helped make during her tenure, including passing a stormwater bond, updating city codes to meet state requirements, removing some barriers to housing creation, maintaining a budget that did not increase municipal taxes and passing a policy to encourage transportation infrastructure upgrades.
Kalloch said the council has worked well together, but that there is still more it could do to increase affordable housing, make jobs more accessible, lower the tax burden and modernize the road and stormwater systems.
“We’re working hard on whatever we can do to help the housing crisis in this area, but also the affordability and ensuring that all residents can live and thrive in Rockland, not only from access to housing, but also access to jobs,” Kalloch said.
Specifically, she wants the Breakwater Light fixed soon after it was damaged in last January’s storms, since it brings tourism and is an important part of local history.
Kalloch also defended the city’s current cap on short-term rentals — which some councilors have sought to change — and argued that officials managed to bring slightly more cruise ships to the city this summer while improving the experience for locals.
“I think one thing that we do well, and I hope we continue to do well, is we bring balance,” Kalloch said.
