Planning Board candidate profile: Kevin Estes

Longtime resident and Town Meeting member Kevin Estes hopes to turn his love for Dartmouth’s character into concrete policy as a Planning Board member.

Estes is running in the upcoming town election against former town employee Jane (Kirby) Pansire for a seat on the board, which will be vacated by 30-year member and current chair Lorri-Ann Miller.

The election is April 6.

“I love the town, and I have an interest in seeing the development and the preservation of the town and its character,” Estes said about his candidacy.

The 18-year Dartmouth resident noted that he isn’t dissatisfied with how the town has been developing thus far. 

“I don’t plan on doing anything radical,” he said. “[I just] thought this would be a great opportunity to give back to the town that’s done so much for me.”

He and wife Kim raised their three children in town, he wrote on his election Facebook page.

“All of our children completed the Dartmouth schools system and benefitted from programs like sports, band and indoor percussion,” he wrote.

Estes said that he would like to make it easier for people trying to “accomplish good things” in terms of building in town.

He added that he is especially excited about helping set the town’s master plan, and is also interested in “preserving the quality” of the town’s spaces. 

“People want to be here,” Estes noted. “We’re a farming community, and [a] seaside town. We have to balance residential and business needs. Both are vital to the town.”