SACO — William Mann said from a fairly young age, he has had a standard answer on what he does for a job.
“What I do is help people,” he said.
Mann, 54, began Dec. 31 as the city’s economic development director. He speaks energetically and enthusiastically about his new job and the twin cities, and when asked, describes himself as “positively optimistic.”
“We don’t have problems, we have challenges,” he said, and quoting author G. K. Chesterton, states, “An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.”
Mann has many years experience in banking and commercial lending as well as running his own business consulting firm. He also teaches accounting at the University of Southern Maine.
Mann said one of his first priorities is establishing relationships with his fellow workers in City Hall as well as people in the business community. He said he’s doing a lot of listening, finding out what the needs are so he can determine how the city and the community can work together to establish goals.
He said he wants to move in a “balanced, positive, go-forward path.”
Mann believes he is coming to the job at a good time, as the city is in the midst of creating a 10-year vision.
When talking about working together to achieve goals, Mann talks of “satisficing,” in which everyone is satisfied to a degree and everyone has to sacrifice a bit.
“I’m a strong believer in consensus,” he said.
Growth and development needs to be done thoughtfully, as not to disrupt the local culture. One has to consider how development will impact quality of life and how it will impact future generations down the road. Saco has a lot to offer, and there is a nice flow between the different districts as one drives down Route One and travels from an area of car dealerships to the center of downtown.
“It’s a really nice mix that’s evolved over time,” he said.
When talking about economic growth and the community, he believes Saco and Biddeford need to be seen as one large community and looks forward to building connections between the two cities.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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