Meet The Candidate: Bill Martin

Bill Martin said one of the initial reasons he ran for City Council in 2008 was to help bring a desperately needed playground to the Woods of Bayview.

“We still don’t have one,” Martin said. “I feel like a failure to everyone in my neighborhood.”

But such decisions are indicative of the era in which Martin has served on City Council. He’s wrapping up his second term on City Council, and his second year as the City Council President.

“One of my commitments was to see Havre de Grace through these hard times and preserve our history. That’s one of the things that kept me going,” Martin said.

A history and government teacher at Aberdeen Middle, Martin puts the city’s historical heritage high on his list of concerns.

But primarily, hi focus is on the fiscal concerns of the city, and helping aid the city and its residents through a challenging economic situation.

It’s been a challenge on Martin, as well. He and his wife, Taryn, also a teacher, have three children. Serving on council can be a challenging proposition for families.

“I thought long and hard about this one. It’s hard,” Martin said of the election process. “It’s hard on my wife, hard on me, hard on my kids. I thought about not running, but in the end, I believe we did a lot of good and we’ve come a long way. I’m not saying anyone else has done a bad job, but I’m proud of the job we’re doing on this council and I’m proud to be on a council under the administration of Wayne Dougherty that has seen the city through tough economic times.”

Martin, 38, said during recent candidates forums that his proudest legislation while on council includes the ordinance that mandated carbon monoxide detectors in most city homes. He also noted the stop of a movement for three-year terms for elected officials, which also included an amendment pushing such future proposals to a vote by residents.

Martin is inspired, he said, by the many volunteers in the city.

“Who am I compared to someone who works at Grace Place? Who am I to the ladies that spend all year making things for the Lock House boutique? Who am I to a man or woman who works for the hose company that responds to 250 or 400 calls for no pay in the middle of the night? I’m nobody,” he said. “But if I can at least meet with them, talk to them, and say, ‘What can I do to keep you doing that?’ That’s why I do it.”

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See more Patch coverage of the 2012 election.