Selected Press
Wake UP! In Provincetown 4/23/21
Lise King interview on “Wake Up! In Provincetown” April 23, 2021
Provincetown Independent 4/14/21
Lise and her son, Nathan, hiking the dunes in Provincetown
Lise King: ‘I Love Doing the Work’
The incumbent says she’s just hitting her stride
BY PAUL BENSON APR 14, 2021
PROVINCETOWN — In the three-way race for a single seat on Provincetown’s select board, Lise King, 56, is the incumbent. Her argument for a second term is that she loves the work, she’s dedicated to it, and she’s increasingly effective in the position.
“It’s a big job to do well,” said King. “My commitment, and the time I’m spending on it — it’s like falling in love. The more I do it, the more I want to do it, the more committed I am to it, and the more I enjoy it.”
King lived a peripatetic life before finally settling in Provincetown. As a child, her time was divided between divorced parents. King went to school where her father lived, in Florida. Her mother is the Provincetown artist Bunny Pearlman, former owner of the East End Gallery. King spent her childhood summers here and worked jobs at Café Blasé and Franco’s restaurant. She earned a degree in history from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley.
After spending time in New York working on documentary films, King moved to the Rosebud Lakota reservation in South Dakota, where she married, had two children, and co-founded the Native Voice newspaper.
“I didn’t realize how privileged I was until I lived on the reservation,” said King. “Historic oppression, systemic racism, institutional bias — it’s where I realized how I wanted to spend my precious life, to use Mary Oliver’s words: making things better for the people who need it most.”
After a painful divorce, King returned to Provincetown with her children. She earned a master’s in public administration from Harvard, stayed for three years of fellowships in the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, and lived through a variety of housing arrangements before finding housing at the Stable Path development.
When it comes to town policy, King wants to both move quickly and engage a wider circle of citizens.
There is a natural tension between public engagement and efficiency, King noted. If you go too far for the sake of efficiency, she said, “by the time the project gets to us, it’s like it’s prepackaged, which is what happened with the police station.” Then, she added, “On the other hand, you can get bogged down in so much discourse, you get sidetracked.”
King supports going forward with a new station on the selected site on Jerome Smith Road, partly because there is already $8.6 million appropriated for that site, and construction costs are rising rapidly. She is also “100 percent for the VFW housing project.”
King noted the importance of discussing unresolved issues there, however. “For the people who gathered at that building for many years, it was an emotional space,” she said. Losing that is a cultural loss for part of the community, she said. “We’re looking at this like a gameboard, police here, housing there, moving pieces around,” she said. “I think we have to negotiate this.”
King looks forward to the results of the needs assessment for the fire dept., which may point to a professional, rather than volunteer, department in the future. “If we’re going to need to have new hires,” she said, “maybe housing at the VFW is a place they could live.”
Last June, King proposed an economic stabilization and sustainability committee to look at both near-term Covid recovery and larger issues facing the town. It was established last fall as an advisory subcommittee to the select board, and King pointed to its work as a model.
“With the support of my colleagues on the board, we’ve created this mini-think tank to come up with a lot of creative ideas, and dig into the meat and potatoes of how to get them done,” she said. “If you had people renting out basements for housing that were nonconforming, for instance, could they need help bringing those places up to code? We’ve talked about a Provincetown development corporation that could take on bigger housing projects.”
King said she has floated the idea of housing along the future bike path between Shank Painter Road and Herring Cove. “We’re pulling out the map and looking at where we can reclaim space,” she said.
“I’m getting more work done now than I ever have in my life,” said King. “I believe in a collaborative process, and it’s really great to be part of a team.”
Candidate King’s campaign website is liseking.com.
Cape Cod Magazine 12/18
Cape Cod Times, 4/13/21
Carnival Parade on Commercial Street, 2019
Provincetown summer events will be back, but what will they look like?
PROVINCETOWN — Carnival, Pride and other theme weeks are back on the town’s calendar for summer. The possible size and scope of the LGBTQ-friendly gatherings, though, is being gauged on an almost day-to-day basis.
“We’re in planning mode as opposed to cancellation mode, which is exciting,” said Bob Sanborn, executive director of the Provincetown Business Guild. “We will do anything that we are allowed to do that can be done safely.”
The theme weeks starting next month won’t be canceled as they were in 2020, Sanborn said, but they will likely look different than revelers remember because what can be done safely “is a fluid landscape at the moment.”
Steady 2021 lodging reservations around Provincetown so far point to more people being comfortable with travel as vaccinations become more widespread, he said, and business owners in town “are cautiously optimistic that it will be a really good season.”
As a result, announcements from the guild and elsewhere in the past week have signaled the return in some form of major celebrations and themed weeks from early summer through fall, as well as a wide variety of entertainment — largely outdoors — starting Memorial Day weekend.
Both the Crown & Anchor Resort and Pilgrim House have announced season-long rosters for the outdoor stages set up at those locations last summer. Nationally known entertainers are lined up at the Art House and Provincetown Town Hall, too, if indoor venues are allowed to open.
“We’re all waiting for the cue from the state. They hold the cards here in determining what is safe and what can be done and when,” Sanborn said about all summer entertainment plans in Provincetown. While the state entered the final phase four of reopening March 22, he said, “there hasn’t been a lot of specific guidance on when different things can reopen.”
Business owners are also awaiting word from a meeting scheduled for April 29 between the Provincetown Select Board and Board of Health to determine rules for indoor entertainment, sizes of gatherings and licenses for events such as parades and the Blessing of the Fleet.
Lise King said she and fellow Provincetown Select Board members are keeping a close eye on what’s happening in other towns, what state regulations are, and on COVID-19 and vaccination numbers as they prepare for that April 29 meeting.
“Of course we want Provincetown as open for business as possible,” she said, noting tourism is a $250 million industry there. Events are "our stock and trade here. ... We’d love to invite everyone and have it be business as usual, but we don’t want to be in the news for the wrong reason."
What to allow when “is the $65 million question everywhere now," she said. "We’re all dealing with juggling this impossible matrix between protecting public health, which has to be the number one priority … and trying to make sure we’re all still in business.”
King said she believed the early and strict regulations in Provincetown last summer helped to keep COVID-19 numbers low and still attracted a higher than expected number of tourists who were looking for a “safe harbor” to visit. That type of safe boost to businesses “is what we’re hoping to do this year,” she said, with parameters under discussion later this month.
Smaller, alternate activities for each themed week
Annual events in town such as Pride (June 4-6 this year), Family Week (July 24-31), Bear Week (July 10-18), Independence Day Week and the Provincetown International Film Festival (June 16-25) typically have opening and closing parties that attract 1,000 or more people, according to Sanborn. While organizers aren’t expecting crowds of that size as the pandemic continues, they did decide to proceed with smaller, alternate activities for each themed week.
“If we can have bigger gatherings whenever that event or theme week occurs, then we are prepared to ramp up appropriately and safely,” he said.
When asked specifically about Carnival (Aug. 15-21), which attracts tens of thousands of people to its annual parade, Sanborn said, “I believe there will be some sort of parade, whatever that means, even if it’s a pedestrian parade of people in costumes. There will be something, depending what the state allows. It just may not be as big as what people normally expect.”
New guild endeavors planned this summer include enlisting drag queens as “tourism ambassadors” for theme weeks and weekends, organized through its first official Drag Council. The drag queens will host brunches and bingo, and greet people, hand out masks and pose for photos on Commercial Street.
“We always want people to remember Provincetown is an LGBTQ destination on top of everything else Provincetown has to offer,” Sanborn said.
The guild is also designating Express Yourself Days during main theme weeks to encourage visitors to show their individuality by dressing in “colorful, creative ways” — whether it’s in heels, Speedos or new “Express Yourself” T-shirts, Sanborn said. Those days will expand upon the town’s reputation for always being, as Sanborn put it, “a place where people feel comfortable expressing their individuality. You can be free to be who you are in Provincetown.”
Besides that reputation, Provincetown was also cited last month as among the Top 20 Friendliest Cities in the U.S. by Expedia, as voted by its travelers, and as one of the 25 Best Beach Towns in America by PureWow digital lifestyle brand.
Entertainment being offered on outdoor stages
For entertainment being offered in town, producers at the Crown & Anchor and Pilgrim House aren’t waiting for town officials’ permission to go indoors: They have announced full summers of entertainment on outdoor stages set up last summer, when they were the only two venues open for cabaret and musical acts.
Location at the Crown & Anchor will be poolside, with Varla Jean Merman and Dina Martina as headliners in residence for the summer, and more than a half-dozen regular weekly acts — a drag revue and musical tributes to Dolly Parton and Elton John among them — plus guest performers, including Broadway and cabaret stars.
“2021 is an exciting year – we have turned the corner on the pandemic, but will remain vigilant with our safety protocols and social distancing,” producer Rick Murray said in the Crown & Anchor announcement, noting seating and tickets will remain limited.
“Ticket quantities are limited and sell out quickly” for the outdoor parking-lot stage, warns the Pilgrim House website. Owner/general manager Ken Horgan last month announced a partnership to host regular Post Office Cafe & Cabaret acts there, too, until indoor entertainment is possible, and a “#ptowntogether” initiative to get businesses to work together in a positive way to bring tourists back to town.
Entertainers Miss Richfield 1981 and Paige Turner will open May 29 at the Pilgrim House for shows through mid-September, and other talent has already been announced starting in July.
Producer Mark Cortale moved his slate of Broadway stars (including Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O’Hara), performance artists and cabaret performers from 2020 to 2021, with new dates announced on the Art House website. He is awaiting word from state and town officials on whether the schedule can move forward indoors.
According to a statement, Cortale is “optimistic that these will go on as planned” and "very hopeful" the indoor entertainment ban will be lifted soon.
New York Times 3/23/20
Lise King is a Select board Member in Provincetown. Photo by Mischa Richter
Coronavirus Makes Daily Life Confounding. Here Are Some Answers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/coronavirus-dilemmas-travel-social-distancing.html
EXCERPT:
Lise King, a Select Board member in Provincetown, the summer arts haven at the outer tip of Cape Cod, Mass., posted a Facebook message on Thursday that she found painful to write. She thinks of her town as welcoming, and is proud of its history as a refuge for gay men who fell ill during the AIDS crisis. But that day, she had heard reports about plane after plane touching down at the tiny Provincetown airport.
“TO ANYONE THINKING ABOUT COMING TO PTOWN,” she started. “PLEASE make yourself aware of our circumstances and make an informed choice,” she said. “If you come here and fall ill you are taking a risk that we won’t have the capacity to help you.” By Sunday night, Provincetown had two confirmed cases of the virus, a shelter-in-place order and a parking ban for nonresidents.
For the same reasons, day trippers looking for bucolic, socially distanced hikes are no longer welcome in the ski town of Hunter N.Y., said Sean Mahoney, a councilman. He has shut down the handful of Airbnb properties he manages, though the revenue loss is painful, and he has asked others to do the same.
If you do relocate, drive directly to the house and quarantine in place to avoid inadvertently spreading the disease, Ms. Schull suggested. Bring what you need, so that you don’t take groceries from locals. “We have one supermarket in our town that serves five towns,” Mr. Mahoney said.
Finally, find a way to help. Give to local charities. Ask what officials on the ground need. In recent days, Ms. King has been assembling a volunteer corps, and one of her conscripts is Dr. Scott Adelman, a second-home owner who is a recently retired cardiologist.
“Maybe I’ll backfill shifts at local clinics,” Dr. Adelman said, “or run medical supplies.”
“If we’re going to get through this as a society, everyone’s got to take a piece,” he said. “No one is prepared for this, and no one can do it by themselves.”
Provincetown Independent 11/27/2019
Bringing younger insights and energy to local government are, left to right: Lise King of Provincetown, Kristen Reed of Truro, Mike DeVasto of Wellfleet, and Al Cestaro of Eastham. (Photo Molly Newman)
Young Leaders Want More People to Focus on the Future Here
The vision: real villages, climate readiness, more housing, broadband
BY EDWARD MILLER NOV 27, 2019
EASTHAM — Four of the youngest members of our local select boards, all elected for the first time in the last two years, met for a conversation about the future of the Outer Cape last Thursday at the Eastham library. The audience for the event, organized by the Independent, was small, but the topics that were addressed were large: finding answers to the lack of housing for year-round residents and young families; preserving village life under pressure to turn the Outer Cape into a summer resort; building infrastructure, like broadband and better cell phone service, that would enable start-up businesses to create jobs; organizing a coordinated regional strategy to adapt to the climate crisis.
A key to progress, the group agreed, is getting more people involved in local government to help create solutions to these and other complex problems.
Al Cestaro of Eastham, a fisherman and aquaculturist who is 39, said he is passionate about getting the right people onto local boards and setting up systems for their professional development. He was voted onto the select board in a special election in December 2018 and re-elected this year. He and one other member are under 40 years old.
“We have such a shortage of community input and volunteering,” said Cestaro. But “you’re only as fast as your slowest person,” he added, calling for more experienced people to offer their skills.
Cestaro also called for a restoration of civics education to get more people to understand the importance of local government. “The young people think ‘civics’ is a car,” he said.
Lise King, 55, elected to the Provincetown Select Board in 2018 and second youngest in that group, agreed with Cestaro.
“We have to go back to the basics,” King said, “and create civics education for the entire spectrum of age groups.”
Mike DeVasto, who at 38 is the youngest on Wellfleet’s board and spent several years living in Montgomery, Vt., said, “In Vermont, town meeting day is a state holiday. Everyone comes and they do it all day. Then they have a big party.”
Kristen Reed of Truro is the second youngest, at 35, of all current Outer Cape select board members. (Selectman Jared Collins of Eastham is 31.) She talked about how hard it is as a young person to make a life here.
“I’m a military and academic brat,” said Reed. “Cape Cod was the first place I ever felt at home. But when I wanted to plant roots here, I started to experience the challenges. I was loving it, but I had such a difficult time trying to find a place to live, I was forced to live off-Cape. Working in the gig economy is lucrative, but you’re not really building anything.”
“Housing is my primary concern,” said DeVasto. “It’s tied to economic development, a situation where people who want to stay here have some opening to do so.”
DeVasto, who is 27 years younger than the average of the ages of the other four Wellfleet select board members, sees a generational divide in how citizens view the housing crisis.
“Most residents don’t really understand the difficulty of putting a roof over your head in our housing market,” he said. “You can’t move anywhere if you lose your rental. I don’t think that’s grasped by most of the population. It’s our primary problem on the Outer Cape.”
DeVasto returned to Wellfleet from Vermont to take over his uncle’s aquaculture grant. Long-serving Selectman Jerry Houk was retiring and asked DeVasto to run for his seat this year.
“I said I didn’t want to,” said DeVasto, “and he said, ‘Think about it.’ I thought about it, and I did run and got elected, and I’m glad I did. Housing is a super challenging issue. There’s no one solution. We need drastic measures if we want to keep our villages villages and not become a resort community without a younger generation.”
He said he favored moving away from a focus on “affordable” housing, as in Wellfleet’s zoning rules for affordable accessory dwellings units. “The town has to start thinking about where we want to spend our short-term rental tax money,” he added. “That’s the primary driver of the housing problem: short-term rentals.”
King linked the housing situation to larger environmental issues in describing a “constellation of stresses” affecting young people. A videographer and former newspaper publisher, she produced the film “Heroin: Cape Cod, USA” for HBO.
“Why is this happening?” King asked. “Why are so many people struggling with addiction? Young people are looking around at the environment and the future and saying there’s not much out there for me. That level of stress is the primary driver of the opioid crisis.”
King argued for a concerted regional effort to address climate change. “Our economy is totally dependent on our natural environment,” she said. “The challenges are huge. We’ve had some response at the municipal level, but we haven’t a unifying mechanism to bring everybody together. Not all the communities are talking to each other. And I was surprised in the budget hearings in Provincetown that the department heads weren’t talking about how their budgets would be affected by climate change. How do we mandate that every piece of business has the lens of natural resources protection and climate change response?”
Reed argued that people who are feeling extreme economic stress can’t think about other problems.
“You need a job to pay your rent or mortgage so you can have the time to be mindful about what’s coming,” she said. “If you’re in pure survival mode, you have nothing else to give.”
A partner in Chequessett Chocolate, Reed said that business had been made possible by the internet.
“Broadband is one of the ways to have year-round jobs without having too much construction and development here,” she said. “But a lot of people don’t have access. We have terrible internet and cell phone service, especially in Truro.” She noted that some towns have created their own municipal internet companies.
Cestaro said he was “very invested in my neighbors’ success whether I agree with them or not.” He grew up in Eastham, then spent 14 years in the U.S. Army, serving in Afghanistan.
“I learned a lot of techniques in the tribal regions of Afghanistan,” he said. “Certain tenets of village living here are tribal. The foundation is the same, whether in Afghanistan or Cape Cod: Don’t be an asshole.”
Cestaro predicted that commercial fishing and shellfishing would grow into more important sectors of the local economy.
“We’re using science now to come up with the best possible scenario for the resource,” he said. “Fishing families were regulated right out of business because of bad science and big business. Now we’re coming back into a balance, with the community being a good shepherd of the resource. When I was a kid growing up here fishing 20 years ago, this conversation wasn’t happening. Now we’re talking about these things.”