Ward 1 Councilor
Robert Keays
Age: 75,  Dover res. 75 yrs.Occupation: retired
Public Experience: Dover City Council

Age: 75

Occupation: retired.

How long have you lived in Dover: All my life.

Have you served on any boards, councils or committees: Seven years on the Dover City Council.  

As Dover becomes a more desirable place to live, how can the city keep it an affordable place for low-income residents?  

“I think the biggest thing of any city is you have to cut the spending. This is one of the faults of this council. They couldn’t say no when they should have said no, so we’re stuck with $125 million debt in this city. That’s a quarter of our budget.”

What have you accomplished for Dover that you are most proud of and what would you like to accomplish if you are elected?

“If I’m reelected, I would like to see Dover and the councilors cut back on spending in the city. Past accomplishments, I would have to say, I’ve been a big pusher on getting our parks and recreation in shape, and I think I’ve done a lot towards that. We have, I would think, one of the best recreation programs in the state here in Dover, and we have some great baseball programs, and I have been very active in the baseball area. I have been active in the Cal Ripkin area, which used to be Little League. We have, I feel, one of the best in the state here in Dover. We have played more competitions than, I think, any team in the state, and we have stood up very well. We have done excellent. I see Portsmouth has done well, but we were the first ones to go to Williamsport in 1987.”

What is an important environmental issue facing Dover?

“The biggest environmental issue we have is the old city dump, and that’s up on Tolend Road. I think once that is closed, the people of this city will be happy.”

What is the most recent cultural or artistic event that you have attended in Dover?

“I’m not much to attend too much in the city. I’m very active in sports. I attend a lot of sports.”

What type of new businesses would you like to see come to Dover?

“There’s a lot of businesses you’d like to see come to your city. I don’t think we’ll see any new businesses in Dover. I don’t think Dover is an attraction for big businesses to come to.”

Do you support a tax cap for Dover?   

“I haven’t decided yet on the cap that they’re voting on in November, but I’m leaning towards it because I think it will slow the spending.”

Dover has a growing art community. What can the city do to support arts and artists?