Bruce Semple Enters Brewster Select Board Race

BREWSTER – Bruce Semple has a robust volunteer history not only in Brewster but around the Cape. Now, he’s looking to deepen his service as he vies for the open select board seat in the upcoming annual election. 

 After participating in the inaugural civics academy last fall along with his wife, Semple developed a better understanding of the town’s local government. He said he was impressed by the effectiveness and efficiency of all the departments within town hall, no matter the size. This sparked an interest in playing a bigger part in municipal government. 

 Since moving to Brewster in 2017, Semple has held a number of volunteer positions on local committees, organizations and commissions. 

 In town, he has served as the vice chair of the energy and climate action committee, been a fix-it coach with the recycling commission during fix-it clinics, helped the natural resources department “beautify” Brewster and worked as a poll worker during elections. 

Outside of town hall, Semple is a Brewster Ponds Coalition board member.

“We first came up when we started vacationing up here in 2014 and went into Nickerson State Park and we’d spend long, lovely days at Cliff Pond,” he said. “We really fell in love with the ponds here. People refer to them as the jewels of Brewster. I feel really strongly about protecting them.”

Semple lives near Seymour Pond, and in his role as a BPC board member, he would talk to local neighborhood associations about the cyanobacteria outbreaks. He said as a select board member, he would want to focus on pond health, citing his interest in the newly developed integrated water resource management plan and the pond management plan.   

Semple is also a member of the Brewster Ladies’ Library finance committee and volunteers as a library audio visual and tech desk helper. 

He said getting a front-row seat to town budgets “has been very enlightening.” 

Semple also serves as the president of his local homeowners association and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.

Although the list of volunteer positions is long, Semple said he has never run for elected office within a municipality. Now, as a retiree, Semple is hoping to make the most out of his “free” time. 

Semple retired as a solutions architect after over 42 years at IBM. Throughout his career, he held a number of different roles in the company, earning 17 U.S. patents and working with NASA, Boeing, CNN and even the National Hockey League, he said. 

“I retired as a senior solutions architect,” he said. “The bulk of that job was looking at different customers' problems or challenges and developing solutions for them. I’m hoping that skill will serve me well if I’m elected.” 

One of Semple’s more passionate issues in Brewster is affordable housing. When asked about the feasibility study that is currently underway on the Sea Camps pond property to determine if the 42-unit affordable housing complex is the right fit, he said he was in favor of gathering more information.

“As part of the BPC, I was aware of the concern about the wells and the Zone II area,” he said, referring to the area around public water supply wells. “I know there’s a study going on to understand how much of a buffer zone you need around septic systems. I think this is all good data when you collect it. We do need to address, bottom line, housing. We need more affordable housing here on the Cape.” 

Semple added that he understood the need to protect resources, but there should be a balance struck. 

“I think it’s just important to get all the information and understand everyone’s concerns,” he said. “Understanding the concerns of all the individuals, all the stakeholders.”

With budgets on the horizon, Semple also discussed his previous experience working through budget issues. Brewster has been widely recognized for award-winning budgetary practices, but with the threat of an override looming, the select board will have to make major decisions on what to recommend at town meeting. 

“I have had some experience working on budgets for organizations and individuals when I was in Maryland,” he said. “I’m hoping I can use some of that experience. I know that’s a big challenge here is budget preparation and I’m hoping I can contribute in a small way.”

Although Semple doesn’t have a wealth of experience within town government, he is looking at that as a major opportunity to come in with a fresh perspective. With 42 years of problem solving experience, he said he is ready to tackle the ones his town is facing.

In his free time, Semple enjoys amateur radio and is the president of the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club and an active member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services of Eastern Massachusetts. He is also a volunteer monitor with the Mass Audubon Diamondback Terrapin program, which helps protect the local turtles. 

Semple will be an official candidate on the ballot come May 19. According to Town Clerk Colette Williams, Laurel Labdon has also taken out nomination papers for the seat, but has not returned them yet.