Wareham Week spoke to each of the four candidates for the Board of Selectmen ahead of the town election. Two seats are available, and the top two vote-getters will be elected. For links to profiles of the other candidates, click here. 

Ron Besse hopes to bring his business experience to the Board of Selectmen.

Besse is a father of four, with a fifth child on the way, and works in management for a large retailer.

“We are in a time where I believe change is very important to the success of the town, and even more so now with what’s going on with the pandemic and everything we’ve had to deal with from a local state and federal level,” Besse said. “We will be dealing with a lot of financial issues in the very near future and probably for the foreseeable future, with lost revenues, taxes, money the town was expecting to come in that’s not there now.”

With those challenges, Besse said he sees opportunities for the town to adapt and make changes to help the town “get back to how it was, and [make] it even better.”

Besse said he has experience working with large stores, and budgets nearing the 75 million dollar mark.

“I understand the ins and outs of running a business, and the town is really no different,” Besse said.

Besse said he wants to make sure the town is working to support veterans and first responders. He noted that veterans often face medical issues including PTSD, and the transition into the civilian workforce is challenging.

“I just feel like we could do more for them, but what that more is is still to be determined,” Besse said.

Besse also expressed concern about the town’s large senior population, and said that some senior citizens have told him that they are having a hard time staying in Wareham on a fixed income.

Additionally, Besse said that as a father, he understands that it’s often difficult to find affordable programs for kids.

He has already met with the Wareham Tigers, and is eager to work to support the nonprofit organization.

Besse is especially focused on helping small businesses, which he described as the “heartbeat of Wareham.”

Regardless of whether he is elected or not, Besse said he wants to try and boost the visibility of small businesses in town.

He is in the process of planning a business expo for the small companies, restaurants, stores, and other businesses in town to be held once it’s safe to gather in groups.