GREENFIELD — Building a new library to serve the town’s most vulnerable populations, helping to address the opioid crisis and supporting a future “safe city” ordinance are among Precinct 5 Town Council candidate Timothy Dolan’s goals.
Dolan, 33, grew up in the area and has lived in Greenfield for five years. He is a librarian at Greenfield Community College — a job he said that has taught him many skills that would help him serve on the council. This is his first time running for a seat.
“I started going to the (council) meetings and early on, I kind of noticed the council doesn’t necessarily represent the Greenfield that I know and love, so I decided it was something I could do to try to step up and rectify that,” Dolan said. “I bring a lot of skills that I’ve developed as a librarian, I see the jobs as kind of being analogous. So much of my job is going out and finding out what the patrons need and want, and then seeing what we can do to provide it.”
Dolan said he especially hopes to be a voice for Precinct 5, which he said has lacked active representation in recent years.
“There are a lot of sidewalks that are broken, there are some abandoned properties that are a real nuisance that people have been talking about for a long time,” he said.
Dolan hopes to support funding the construction of a new library on Main Street, which he said would be a service center for some of the town’s most vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly. He said the project would also be part of a larger effort to invest in downtown.
The opioid crisis was also part of what inspired Dolan to run for council.
“That’s certainly one of the things that drew me to the race,” he said, adding he doesn’t see sufficient leadership from the mayor and current council around the issue.
“In the long run, I see my role as a councilor as liaising and connecting with the people who are doing that work already — we have the opioid task force, we have experts at Tapestry … there are plenty of experts on addiction and treatment and harm reduction in that area, so making sure those voices are in present in town government is really important to me,” he said.
Dolan said he also hopes to support a future “safe city” ordinance, should one come before Town Council. He said he would also prioritize strong investment in Greenfield’s public schools, workers’ collective bargaining rights and building a new skatepark in town.
He added that a vibrant, walkable downtown is the key to long-term economic growth in Greenfield, and wants to bring more energy and transparency to town government.
“I spend so much time hanging out with the 18 to 22 demographic in Franklin County and a lot of what I want to bring to the council is a longer vision, making sure the town is a place where that generation can grow up and thrive,” Dolan said.