Selectmen candidate Patrick Tropeano says that if you believe in something and you have something to say, there's only one thing to do: Say it.

"I think leadership is a big issue" in the Town of Wareham, Tropeano said.

In particular, he says the Selectmen should have been more vocal regarding where they stood on the Proposition 2½ overrides, which shot down last summer that would have raised property taxes to provide funding for Wareham's school system.

"The Selectmen put them on the ballot, then nobody heard anything," Tropeano explained. "They didn't come out and say 'we're in favor and this is why,' [or] 'we're against it and this is why.' They didn't do anything. They just let it be on the ballot."

Tropeano, who served a term on the Board of Selectmen from 2002 to 2005, says that if elected, he won't have any problem telling people exactly where he stands and why.

"Leadership is making those hard decisions and saying what we need to do regardless of whether you get re-elected or not," said Tropeano. "I don't have any bones about making those hard decisions."

Tropeano said that during his time as Selectman and since he left the board, he has learned a lot and gained a certain amount of perspective that will be useful to him if he joins the board again.

"The last time I ran, I had a good idea of what Selectmen did, but I wasn't really sure. Like anybody when they first get elected, they're trying to find their way and find their voice," he said. "I think, nowadays, I'm the kind to listen and to try to mediate and bring people together."

He also served on the Finance Committee for five years, four of which he served as chair.

"I have a lot of institutional knowledge about the town and its people. I have a lot of experience in finance and in the Selectmen's office and I think I can help."

Tropeano says he wants to bridge the divide between the school system and the town.

Recalling his time on the Selectmen and FinCom, he explained: "We brought them [the School Committee] in, we sat down, we talked to them, we came up with solutions and answers, and got through the hard times when we had to."

Tropeano is also interested in bringing new business to town by eliminating obstructions that can make doing business in Wareham seem like more trouble than it's worth, he says.

"We shouldn't run [a business-owner] through 400 layers of red tape to get him to open a business here," Tropeano said. "He just gets tired of it and says, 'I can't do this, I'm going to go somewhere else.'"

The 59-year-old Tropeano has lived in Wareham for approximately 40 years, but is originally from Weston.

He has a sewer and septic excavation business but when business is slow, especially during the winter, he drives a fuel truck for Chalker Fuel.

"I'll retire when I'm horizontal," Tropeano said. "I just couldn't see myself sitting around playing golf or any of that stuff. It's just not me."

Tropeano has eight children ranging in age from 5 to 36 years old. Five attend Wareham schools.

Tropeano graduated from Cardinal Cushing academy in West Newbury, then went on to Middlesex Community College. The birth of his first daughter changed the trajectory of his life after her mother left the picture, he said.

"Her mother took off when I was in college. I wanted to go to med school and was actually a 4.0 science student," he explained. "I had a three-year-old daughter I had to take care of, and I chose to do that."

He describes himself as "old-school Italian," and says that one thing his father passed down to him is the work ethic of a mule. He sees Wareham as blue collar town and says he is among the working class who are struggling with the ball and chain of a downed economy.

"Look, I don't have a lot of money. I'm always working paycheck to paycheck and job to job like everybody is because the economy's so bad," he says.

A horrific tragedy that befell his family is what inspired him to run for office again after his family had actually been considering a move out of Wareham.

Three years ago, Tropeano's wife was in car accident that nearly took the life of his then nine-year-old daughter.

"My daughter [nearly] lost her arm," he explained. "She was in an induced coma for a month."

Doctors were able to save her arm through surgery, and she pulled through. Tropeano says that the outpouring of support from his fellow citizens made him not only want to continue to live here, but to give back however he could.

"The people in this town, they were unbelievable. … Hundreds of people in this town were e-mailing and texting saying they're praying for her," Tropeano remembered. "Just the spiritual energy they passed on helped her get through."

Tropeano also ran for the two-year Selectmen seat that was up for grabs last year, following the resignation of Michael Schneider. He bowed out of the race, however, when an illness prevented him from attending the Onset Protective League's Candidates Night, and he figured he didn't have a chance at winning.

Tropeano's job brings him to a number of different towns in Massachusetts, and he says that he is tired of the negative attitude people have toward Wareham. He worries that and thinks residents, too, have begun to think negatively of the town.

He says that this sort of outlook can only drag the town down.

"I want people to step up to the plate and start being part of this place. I know they can do it," Tropeano said. "I've seen it."