Andrew Putnam Makes Run for Assembly of Delegates Official

Andrew Putnam has already been involved in town government for two years, serving as a Town Meeting member and chairman of the Affirmative Action Committee. Now the 22-year-old political prodigy is setting his sights on the county level, with a bid to join the Assembly of Delegates, the body that coordinates planning and action across the Cape.

Putnam officially submitted his nomination papers on Monday, and plans to hold a party to celebrate his candidacy in the near future.

“I know that I'm definitely going to bring a different style to it,” Putnam says. If elected, the young candidate promises to focus on openness and accountability, two factors which he says are often lacking in the assemblage as currently constituted.

Putnam hopes to take an ambitious agenda to the county level. He says three key issues must be addressed.

Wastewater management, an issue Falmouth knows all too much about, is number one on his list. He stresses that coordination is needed in dealing with an issue which knows no borders, and that the Assembly of Delegates is the best place to do it.

Transportation, he says, is another key issue, with action needed to free up the Cape's often congested entrance and exit points, while at the same time limiting the number of cars visitors bring with them. He cites a seasonal rail system as a possible answer, though as a fiscal conservative, he says, “I'm always a little worried about public projects.”

Putnam also says something must be done to strengthen the economy, and in particular to inject youth into the Cape's aging population. He says the Open Cape Project, which will bring high-speed fiber optic Internet access to the Cape, and which the assembly has spearheaded in recent years, is a good start, but more needs to be done to attract businesses, and with them a younger workforce.

Putnam says the fact that his father, Brent Putnam, is a member of the Falmouth Board of Selectmen had little to do with his interest in local government. He traces that interest back to at least his junior year in high school, when he helped reorganize his school's student government.

Though he is currently studying business at Cape Cod Community College, Putnam has not ruled out a full-time career in government.