The Unabridged Answers
Porcupine Soup News
I was born and raised in Windham. I am very proud of this community and to be part of it. I am a graduate of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, with a degree in Philosophy (Cum Laude) and minors in Economic History, Political Science, and English Literature. I’ve also attended the University of Southern California, where I studied Film Production and Theory Classes. After living in both Los Angeles and Louisville, I returned home in 2009 to take over the family business.
During my tenure as the Operations Manager of the Family Corporation, I grew the business by 350% and shifted the focus of development from smaller single-owner firms to larger-scale corporations. As the operations manager of the corporation, I was directly involved in the day-to-day operations, strategic planning, financial management, and marketing of the business. Pressures from the pandemic and my father’s growing illness required the liquidation of the business in 2021. After which, I assumed the position of being a semi-retired caretaker of my father until his death in 2024.
As a first-time democratic candidate for town supervisor of Windham, I bring to the race a fresh perspective that is focused on a bottom-up approach to policy development, with a strong emphasis on transparency and local economic development. I believe in the power of local government as the engine of local economic growth. This is in stark contrast to the current philosophy of my opponent, Mr. Hoyt. Instead, my opponent favors policies that will lead to economic stagnation and population decline.
I believe that it is only through debate with my fellow residents that our local government functions properly. This is why I’ve repeatedly asked for a town-hall style debate with my opponent to discuss the issues we face in our community. Mr. Hoyt has refused to accept my proposal and, by doing so, has left the community out of the political process. By denying the public the democratic right to discuss in a meaningful manner the local economic development, multi-generational growth, and transparency serves no one but Mr. Hoyt’s benefit in this election.
Our Economic Development in Windham has been too long focused on a single industry, tourism. Tourism will always be an important part of our economy; however, we must develop a strong, broad-based economy for our community as well. My opponent is attempting to create a roadblock to this development with the current zoning proposal. A proposal that focuses solely on single-family homes in the community at the expense of local business development. This will create unnecessary and costly regulations, including special permits in the Business District and Parking Mandates. Furthermore, the zoning proposal makes the critically important “home occupation” a special permit in the Rural Residential District, where critical economic development must occur, while making it a permitted right in the Resort District for the Windham Mountain Club. In fact, the Windham Mountain Club is allowed to create the following businesses without special permits, while the Business district must have one: Retail Sales, Theaters, Personal Services, Health&Fitness, Professional Offices, Equipment Rental, Farmers’ Markets (non-permanent), Day-Care Center, and Private Schools. This can only be described as a massive giveaway to a corporation that plans on creating a private community isolated from the town itself.
We should focus on creating local first initiatives, such as my Green Acres proposal, that will maximize our Farmers’ Market. It has been shown that for every dollar spent in a farmers’ market, an additional $0.58 to $1.36 is spent in the surrounding stores. It has also been shown that for every $1 million in revenue for local farmers, 13 full-time jobs are created. Windham could be the hub of regional development. And yet our local government refuses to make this market a hallmark of our local economy.
Our local government is also opposed to creating a walkable-livable main street. It has been shown that walking and cycling communities thrive economically. This is also part of my Green Acres proposal, which will link our main street with local economic development, affordable middle-class homes, increased access for all people (including those with mobility issues) to our main street, and green spaces. As our Main Street suffers from the decline in business directly related to the pricing policies of Windham Mountain Club, which have alienated so many, my opponent offers no plan. Mr. Hoyt believes that economic stagnation can be avoided by doing nothing. It can not.
The median age of Windham is increasing 4.2 years per decade since the 2000 Census–this is an extraordinary rate of aging. If this trend continues by 2050, the median age will be 65.3 years. The direct effects will be felt in our ability to provide critical services and find employees for our local businesses. Population decline will only be further exacerbated by our zoning proposals, which maximize single-family homes. We need a strong local economy that strengthens the middle-class backbone of our community. My opponent plans on gutting our community in the name of second homeownership in the pursuit of property value increases that will leave this town emptied of residents. That is not the legacy I want to be part of.
Finally, we need a local government that is transparent to the community. In 2024, I discovered an issue with our budget’s reporting of the Mortgage Aid Tax. It appears that after receiving nearly $1.36 million in aid between 2019-2024, our budget only accounts for $480,000. This amounts to a discrepancy of nearly $900,000 for this period. After repeated attempts to track information down to explain this issue, all of which have failed to yield results, I am calling for an audit. It should concern the public since our general fund balance is now almost $1 million less than the peak of $2.9 million in 2019. We are also $8.776 million in debt as of 2024. Where has this money been spent? Not on our infrastructure. This is just one glaring example of why we need transparency in our local government.
This is why I am running to create a Windham that thrives. A Windham that is about community. I am running to “Make Windham Local Again” for all residents. On November 4th, Vote for Connor Exum.
[An abridged version of this was published in the Porcupine Soup News on October 31st , 2025.]