Newcastle Town Administrator David Bolling always knew he wanted to work in public service.
His father inspired this desire, giving Bolling a firsthand example of a “pragmatic, dedicated” public servant and passing on his professional philosophy.
“I’ve always thought that the only way to really make things better is to roll your sleeves up and jump in,” Bolling said.
Bolling’s accent testifies to his roots in the South, specifically, his hometown of Clinton, Tenn. The accent also provides a ready introduction in Newcastle, as more than one stranger has, after hearing him speak, identified him as the new administrator.
Bolling’s father, a World War II veteran, business owner and community leader, held elected office in Anderson County, Tenn. for more than 20 years. He was a county commissioner at the time of his death.
Bolling, after completing a degree in organizational management, started his career in the banking and finance industry. When his father died in office, Bolling completed his term and was re-elected for a four-year term of his own.
Bolling later challenged a longtime incumbent for the position of Anderson County mayor, the position his father held for much of his political career. He lost the election.
Shortly after beginning his political career, Bolling became the city manager of Oliver Springs, Tenn.
As the manager of a “city” of about 3000, with a small staff, Bolling had a wide range of duties. It wasn’t uncommon, he said, “to be in a meeting in a suit and tie one day and to be in jeans and boots fixing a water leak the next.”
“I believe you do what you have to do to get the job done,” Bolling said. “I’m not above anything. That’s all part of public service.”
Five years ago, Bolling and his family vacationed in Maine. During their time here, they visited Monhegan Island, the shell middens along the Damariscotta River, and Sherman Lake.
The area made a deep impression on the family, and, in the years since, they often remarked a desire to live there in the future – perhaps in retirement.
Bolling spotted an advertisement for the Newcastle job one day and applied with limited expectations. The Newcastle Board of Selectmen, with assistance from the Newcastle Hiring Committee, chose him out of a group of more than 50 applicants.
He started work Feb. 21.
The timing of Bolling’s arrival throws him into the thick of budget season – the labor-intensive weeks of budget proposals, meetings with municipal officials and subsequent alterations leading to the annual town meeting in June.
Despite his experience as a city manager, the annual town meeting form of government is new to Bolling.
Oliver Springs elects a city council and a mayor. The mayor proposes a budget and the council passes the budget and sets the tax rate without either an open town meeting or referendum.
Bolling, 38, currently rents a cottage on Pemaquid Pond in Damariscotta. His family – wife Jennifer, 9-year-old son Carter and 6-year-old daughter Caroline – will join him after the school year ends, and he’s already looking for a more permanent home.
“This is Americana at its best,” Bolling said of Newcastle. The town, in many ways, represents “the small town that a lot of other small towns used to be and wish they could go back to,” he said.
“The people are great,” Bolling said. “You always hear about Southern hospitality, but the people here couldn’t be friendlier. I haven’t felt like a stranger since I’ve been here.”
“I love it – what a special place,” he said.