In this episode of the Dover Download podcast, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Parks "Skip" Christenbury, a former Dover City Councilor and lifelong Dover resident. This episode is the third in a series with Dover policymakers over the decades. They discuss the issues facing Dover in the 1990s when Christenbury served on the City Council, including financial struggles and the need for strong leadership. Christenbury reflects on policies and projects from that time, like expanding Enterprise Park, enhancing ambulance services, and laying the groundwork for the current waterfront development. He shares his perspective on the collaborative yet debates-driven dynamic on the 1990s City Council. Christenbury and Parker also delve into the relationships between City Council and staff at that time, the extent of local media coverage of local issues then versus now, and the value of being actively engaged in the community before seeking election.
In "This Week in Dover History," we learn about the appointment of Captain Thomas Wiggin as a commissioner on Dec. 10, 1641 to help enact a new governance structure for the Piscataqua region, which had the authority to ensure peace, order, and justice in Dover's early days.
