By Ally Lanasa, Staff Writer

(July 2, 2020) Berlin Town Councilman Zackery Tyndall, 30, became the second candidate to file for the Oct. 6 Berlin mayoral election on Tuesday.

“I really think there’s a better way forward,” Tyndall said. “I have a son. I think that one day if my son is going to be able to continue to call Berlin home as well, that making sure that our town is affordable is one of the big things because I believe that if we’re going to continue down the path of the magnitude of the tax increase we faced even just two years ago, it’s a huge weight on a lot of people that are looking to try and move or invest in our town.”

For the past four years, Tyndall has been the District 2 councilmember. In this position, Tyndall said he helps make decisions that affect the entire town.

“I really think that the decisions being made on the council are affecting the entire town as a whole, so I’ve been looking at the issues townwide for four years now, actually five, because before I decided to run for council I attended every town council meeting in person for a year so I understood what was going on, ” Tyndall said.

The decision to run for mayor came with the desire to create and present a balanced budget, Tyndall said.

“I joined the council in 2016, and I enjoyed the work I was doing as a councilmember, but when the tax increase came through, I kind of disagreed with my colleagues in reference to that,” Tyndall said. “That was kind of adefining moment, not really for mayor, but the fact that I didn’t agree with the direction that we were going.”

Tyndall voted against the 20 percent tax increase imposed by the town when it suffered a reversal of fortune because it had kept its water and sewer rates artificially low by subsidizing those enterprise funds with money from the general fund. He is also the only councilmember to vote against the budget for the last two years.

Tyndall said many residents asked him to run after the tax increase.

According to his campaign website, Tyndall will aim to “replenish our depleted reserve funds and encourage growth that does not put a financial strain on the people of Berlin.”

Tyndall said his other objectives would be to help the town combat issues of public safety and focus on the town’s infrastructure.

One of his greatest public safety concerns is the intersection of Route 50 and Main Street.

According to his campaign website, the last call Tyndall ran as a paramedic was at that intersection.

Tyndall said he will also address pedestrian and bicycle safety and efforts to control speeding.

As mayor, Tyndall said he will bring with him the experience of council as well as his knowledge of business. Tyndall earned a master’s degree from Salisbury University in business administration, and a bachelor’s degree in management.

As a lifelong resident of Berlin, Tyndall previously served the community as a paramedic at the Berlin Fire Company.

Currently, he is the acting assistant director at Salisbury University’s Richard A. Henson Medical Simulation Center.

Tyndall is married to his childhood sweetheart, Chelsea, and they have a son named Charlie.

For more information about his campaign, visit www.zacktyndall.com or call 443-366-2371.