Selectman Peter Teitelbaum doesn’t mince words.

“I always tell people, the Selectmen's decisions can affect you more quickly and directly than any national vote. It’s why we want to hear you. It’s important to be active in your own town.”

The environmental lawyer and former manager of the Boston Globe’s home delivery operations lives by his own words.

Teitelbaum, a resident of Wareham since he was 2 months old, initially ran for a Selectmen position when his exasperation with town leadership reached a tipping point. “I felt the town was headed in a direction that wasn’t beneficial to citizens. The town’s finances were being improperly managed,” he said.

He also detested the town’s then-political culture, which he described as filled with name-calling and finger-pointing.

“They were blaming people for everything, but nothing was getting fixed,” he said. Sick of what he saw, he decided that he would try to step in and help.

He said his experience as an attorney and a manager means that Selectman duties are an easy fit. “Having both legal and managerial experience helps a lot. Knowing which procedures to install and follow, and knowing where the wiggle room is to be creative. It moves to process along and it helps everyone,” he said.

Teitelbaum said that the best thing Selectmen have done since he joined was hiring Town Administrator Derek Sullivan.

“Derek has provided financial know-how and the discipline to get us out of the trouble we were in,” said Teitelbaum.

He notes that Sullivan’s commitment to the budget, even as it was reduced for fiscal year 2018, reflects the Town Administrator’s expertise.

“Our finances are still limiting,” he admits. “But everything is easier to deal with when we’re fiscally responsible.”

That being said, Teitelbaum makes it clear that he sees some light at the end of the tunnel. “We’ve had to say 'no' a lot. Over the last term we worked hard on repairing the things that needed repairing. I think now that we’re on more stable ground, we can start looking at real improvements to the town. It’s time to work on the positive things.”

He said he's happy to see that the economy in the area has somewhat picked up.

“We’ve had a lot of new restaurants open up on Main Street alone,” he said, listing off the Riverside Cafe, Mumma Mary’s, and El Mariachi. “We really want to get people here, both full-time and for the summer. I think increased activity, and the fact that the restaurants have lasted, means that things are starting to look better.” He points out that the Marriott Suites in Wareham are nearly-full year round now.

Most pleasing to Teitelbaum: he’s seen drastic improvement in the response from outsiders. “The political culture was so bad in Wareham when I started that it gave us a bad name,” he pointed out, saying that both citizens and outside people and operations often responded negatively to Wareham’s government.

Lately though, the tune has begun to change. One of the biggest indicators, according to Teitelbaum, was Mass Development’s $50,000 grant to work with the Town of Wareham in an assessment of the old Tremont Nail Company facilities, done by expert real estate redevelopment consultants.

“People are starting to work with us again. It can never be a bad thing. There are so many outside resources who are beginning to look favorably at us, and we want their help.”

He also feels that the general opinion of the town towards the Selectmen has changed over the years. “There was a time where people wouldn’t argue with us. They were afraid of retribution. Now they know that there is an opportunity for dissent. Some argument is needed to come up with the best conclusion. The quality of communication is much better.”