GraniteGrok

Doug, being much too modest to write flattering things about himself, offers the following profile that appeared in the local town paper. Written by Alec O'Meara, editor of The Gilford Steamer, it ran in the April 6th, 2006 edition, and was titled, "In business and politics, Lambert remains a maverick."

"So, not much has changed since then," laughed Lambert, one of Gilford's best known political figures and the newest member for the Budget Committee.

"And we weren't getting $2.25 for a big [cup] of coffee!" said Lambert.

It wasn't until his two children were involved in the school system and his wife joined a stategic planning committee regarding the school that Lambert got involved. Disappointed with what he felt was a lack of curriculum planning at the elementary level, Lambert spoke up at a Budget Committee Meeting and questioned where his tax dollars were being spent. Not long after that meeting, Lambert found himself deeply involved with town politics. In 1997, Lamber came in third in race for two seats on the School Board.

Contrary to his reputation as an "anti-everything", Lambert points out that he was a member of the facility planning committee that designed the plans for the middle school expansion that was successfully passed and eventually built.

Eventually, Lambert expanded from school issues to the town as a whole, and again ran for office in 2003. This time, despite the backing of a still highly active Gilford Taxpayer Coalition, Lambert lost a bid for selectman to the Budget Committee Chair. After swearing off politics for a couple of years after the loss, Lambert began appearing at the Budget Committee meetings again in 2005 and was appointed by the committee to a one year term on the committee last week.

Still, a closer look at Lambert's office shows his reading habit hasn't cooled any over the years, as the not-so-standard office bookshelf includes a wide variety of works, including Orwell, Marx, Sun-Tzu, Shelley's "Frankenstein," and several other historical books, which focus on everything from the politics of today to WWII and the fall of Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, Lambert's computer, loaded up with 20-plus gigs of classic rock, keeps tunes pumping through the plant every workday.

Doug has long been a non-conformist who, while generally despising the 60's antiwar hippie types and their ilk, shares their questioning of authority... and loves the music!

"Never trust the so-called experts!" Doug has often been heard exclaiming. "Look what happened to ordinary German citizens in the 1930s Germany when they trusted their government wholly without question - some WILLINGLY walked into the gas chambers while many looked on"