SAUGUS — If you’ve ever found yourself checking out the Saugus Community Television schedule in search of something to watch, you may have noticed a show that pops up every once in a while called “Know Your Town,” hosted by Andrew Whitcomb.
Whitcomb spends time sitting with guests from different backgrounds and does what some might say he does best: chats.
He digs into their lives, giving people a glimpse into different worlds, including residents, town officials, senators, representatives, and, in an upcoming episode, District Attorney Paul Tucker.
One of the things Whitcomb noted was that he didn’t come up with the name for the show, and realized later on that it was far more connected to what he and SCTV were doing.
“There was a gentleman who was on Town Meeting for a long time. His name is Al DiNardo. He was on Town Meeting for about 40 years, and he was on the cable board for a while. I ended up inheriting his Town Meeting seat when he left,” Whitcomb said. “And he said, you know, we’re looking for somebody to do a big, cool show on civic engagement.”
DiNardo then mentioned naming the show “Know Your Town,” and Whitcomb and the studio ran with it. He’d later find out that “Know Your Town” was the name of a book by the League of Women Voters, which focused on civic engagement, making it the perfect name for the show without him fully realizing it when they first began.
“It included all the phone numbers of the town offices, different buildings, and the different roles of the government… It had all the streets of the town laid out. And I’m like, alright, that’s kind of serendipitous,” he said.
Whitcomb said that what started with getting to know Saugus expanded to getting to know Essex County as more and more people took the seat across from him.
“And there are still folks from town I want to have on. At some point, I’ll do an episode with somebody from the Board of Selectmen. We’ve had members of the School Committee. The superintendent is going to come on and do an episode. I never try to detract from Saugus,” he said.
When asked if there was a dream person he’d want to sit down with, Whitcomb mentioned that it would be interesting to get a governor on or a lieutenant governor, but that sitting with people like Sen. Brendan Crighton and DA Tucker was great.
“They’ve got a lot of communities to focus on… So to have somebody like DA Tucker voluntarily come down here… To have him come down here and sit with me for an hour and just talk about civics and his job means a lot,” Whitcomb said.
It’s clear through each interview that Whitcomb has a passion for his community, Saugus and Essex County, taking his time to get into the studio with people despite a law school schedule.
Though Whitcomb has spent his whole life in town, he did mention that he’s learned some things about Saugus he didn’t know before.
“I had Steve Doherty, the Town Meeting moderator, explain the budget process to me. Now, I’ve been going to Town Meeting… He explained to me how the whole thing originates with the manager and the superintendent. They meet with department heads months in advance… I knew some of that, but what I didn’t realize was how every year, there are people who run for Town Meeting who think they’re just going to give money to the schools. It doesn’t really work that way,” he said.
He continued that while Town Meeting does approve everything, you can’t just walk into Town Hall in May to decide on the budget.
“That starts months in advance, he said.
One thing Whitcomb made sure to highlight was the work that SCTV does to put the show together, joking that he just comes up with what to say, and that everyone at the station, including his mom, puts in a lot of effort for all of the shows and meetings filmed.
“One thing I’d add, and I say this at the end of every episode, is get involved. There are always positions open on boards. Whether it’s being appointed to a committee or running for office, or joining the garden club, Lions Club, or the Elks, or anything else, get involved. Decisions are made by those who show up. So, if you don’t like the way something is, try and read more about it, try and change it, and work to fix it,” he said.
