Middletown First

Online Monday, November 11, 2002 Newport, Rhode Island -

Making Middletown better is his passion

By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff MIDDLETOWN -

MIDDLETOWN - Attend almost any local meeting and you're likely to find him.

Sitting toward the front of the room, a baseball cap resting on his grayed hair, gold-rimmed glasses, flannel shirt and a pair of jeans rounding out the ensemble, he's paying some serious attention to what's going on around him. On occasion, he'll get up and offer some words about what he's seen or heard, sit down and take it all in again.

But there's much more to this virtually omnipresent watcher of local government than simply scrutinizing the town's budget and the actions of its elected officials.

Despite what some might think, 61-year-old Arthur Benner has a life outside his public persona as one of the most vocal observers of Middletown government.

He gardens. He travels. He enjoys spending time with his wife Joanne. He watches his weight. And he loves the town.

"What I'm trying to do is present the facts as I see them and what I'm thinking in an ordinary way that everyone can understand," Benner said. "I really don't care if people get upset and don't like me, because all I'm doing is what I see is right for the town."

Born in Fall River, Mass., Benner and his family moved to Tiverton when he was 10. He graduated from De La Salle Academy in Newport as a 16-year-old and admitted he basically "goofed off" for the next five years.

That all changed when he met his wife Joanne and relocated to Portsmouth for a year before buying a house in Middletown in July 1963, the place they still call home today.

Not like it used to be

Benner said the affordable price of the couple's house on Namquid Drive made it attractive along with the rural lifestyle that was part of the town not too long ago.

Starting as a junior clerk at Raytheon in Portsmouth, Benner earned 9 cents an hour more than minimum wage at the time, or $1.34. With $15 a week going to Joanne to cover the bills and groceries, the Benners started a family and settled into life in Middletown.

The couple had three children - Michael, now 39, Karen, 37, and Eric, 34 - all of whom attended local schools.

The community gave Benner little reason to be disturbed and he happily went about doing his job, seeing his children grow and minding his own business.

But as time passed and the more he looked around, the more concerned Benner became with the town.

The first sign things were taking a turn, in Benner's mind, was when he woke up early one morning with water pouring into his basement. It was shortly after a strip mall had gone up near his home.

"That had never happened before those projects went in," Benner said. "Our cellar was always dry before then."

Other areas around town that were once open stretches were being filled with homes and shopping plazas as well.

"I remember when this whole area was farms," Benner said. "I think we still have film of Jackie Kennedy and the kids at the Rogers Farm horse show."

And as Benner grew more accustomed to dealing with numbers and budgets as part of his job at Raytheon, it began to appear that some of the information coming out of Town Hall did not add up.

"I started getting really involved in the town's budget 10 or 12 years ago," Benner said. "I'd examine what they put out and I wasn't really satisfied. It seemed like they put very little effort into it."

Benner admits that before that time, like so many others throughout the community, he never really gave much thought to the operation of the town unless an issue directly affected him or his family.

"I wasn't very involved back then, like most other people who are worried about their jobs, their families and paying the bills," Benner said. "I was satisfied with the way things were being run until I started to really look at how they were run."

Every budget season, Benner picks up a copy of the town's budget, goes outside his house or into the basement, lights up one of his trademark cigars and looks over the proposed numbers. He'll make brief notes about areas of concern, which he usually presents at the public hearings.

At meetings, something may trigger Benner to speak up about other issues.

Although they've had their share of differences, outgoing Town Council President Michael P. Kehew said every community needs more people like Benner. Kehew said Benner realizes the business of the town is important and he's always trying to learn more about what's going on around him.

"I wish we had 100 of him," Kehew said. "He's a guy that not only speaks up and talks the talk but he walks the walk. In this day and age, you don't find many volunteers out there like Art.

"You look into the audience each night and there's a handful of people who attend the meetings out a sense of civic duty and he's always there. I respect him a great deal for that and while I may not always agree with his opinions, Art doesn't do anything without the betterment of the community in mind. With Art, it's never about politics or anything like that."

Cutting down on waist Benner's decision to become involved as a local government hawk about 10 years ago came around the time of several other transitions in his life.

Looking in the mirror one day, Benner became extremely dissatisfied with the 288-pound man staring back at him, especially after being told by a doctor to lose weight in light of some health problems. In the first two months of his diet, Benner dropped 35 pounds and eventually got down to 173 pounds before deciding to put back on a little weight because he was too thin. Today, Benner said he keeps himself at 200 to 205 pounds.

"I stayed on that diet religiously," Benner said. "After weighing in at 173, I thought I looked like death warmed over and had to put a few pounds back on."

One of the major factors in Benner's bid to drop weight was altering his diet. Benner said he started eating fish, chicken and vegetables more and cut out the late-night meals.

Exercise also became a vital component of the effort, with Benner going on long walks around town and to and from work every day.

"It got so if I felt hungry at night, I'd get up and walk right past the refrigerator and right out the door for a walk," Benner said. "That certainly helped."

Around this time, Benner also started developing an affinity for gardening and doing work around his yard, which helped him get outside and keep active.

"Fifteen, 20 years ago, I hated gardening," Benner said. "The more I got involved with it and worked around the yard with my late father-in-law (Manuel Gomes), the more I got to liking it."

Benner and his wife took that interest public for the first time eight years ago when they cleaned up a large traffic island on West Main Road at the entrance to their Birchwood neighborhood. The couple now sends out a newsletter every spring to let people know about the upcoming work and how to make donations.

Over the years, the couple has worked on numerous projects to beautify the area around Town Hall and Paradise Park at the corner of Prospect and Paradise avenues.

Benner also joined the Tree Commission, the town's Comprehensive Community Plan Update Committee and the Friends of the Middletown Public Library, all with a goal of making a difference in the town.

He works alongside young offenders sentenced by the town's Juvenile Hearing Board on community service projects like cleaning up around telephone poles on Oliphant Lane and cutting brush and the like on Green End Avenue, among others.

"It makes you feel good to see that some of these kids have real potential and just made a mistake, but then there are those who just don't care at all," Benner said. "What we're doing is beautifying the town and this work seems to help out."

Town Administrator Michael E. Embury, who also has butted heads with Benner from time to time, says the Benners have done a lot to beautify the town.

"I think Art and his wife have done a great deal for the community, like taking care of some of the spots that they do around Town Hall and other places," Embury said. "He's here at Town Hall all the time cutting the grass and tending things, and when you have volunteers doing that kind of work, it saves us from using our people and that's so appreciated and really helps us out."

Inspiration to others

Gail Greenwood, one of the founders of the local grassroots organization Middletown First, said Benner was one of the main motivating factors for her own involvement with the town.

Greenwood met Benner through the comprehensive plan update group, and said he continues to be an inspiration.

"I call him, Joanne and (local resident) Manny Mello the cops," Greenwood said. "If I can't make a meeting, they'll be there with a watchful eye. He's not only community-minded, but also he does all this because he loves the town. He's not a realtor, he's not a businessman. He's doing what he does because he has the best interest of the town in mind."

Benner said he has toyed with the idea of running for office over the years, but has decided he could accomplish more by not sitting on the council.

"I don't think I can make as much of a difference sitting up there (on the council) as from where I sit now," Benner said. "There are people now that I can talk to that wouldn't be able to talk to and other things you can't do as a council member."

While he and his wife have no plans to move out of the area, the steady rise in taxes in recent years has led the couple to question whether they'll be able to afford the place in 10 or 15 years.

"We're living on a fixed income at this point, and I can see in 10 or 15 years we'll probably be priced out of the town if things keep going the way they're going," Benner said. "This is happening to a lot of the elderly people in town and hopefully something will happen to change that trend."

Another thing Benner would like to see is more people getting involved in shaping the future of the town.

"The average Joe in Middletown has no concept of what's going on politically, monetarily or anything else," Benner said. "You go to the meetings and you see so few people there. In Portsmouth, the number of people who are more knowledgeable about what's going on is much greater, just based on the turnout they get for their meetings. I wish the same was true here."