Citizen first, candidates second

Desire to serve leads immigrants to become official

By Eun Lee Koh, Globe Staff Correspondent, 1/30/2003

hile most candidates for local office begin by pulling nomination papers from the town clerk, Jurrien Timmer's quest for a seat on the Lincoln School Committee began with pulling a United States citizenship application from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

When Timmer, 40, began mulling a run for a seat on the committee last winter, he knew he needed to overcome one crucial obstacle: He had lived in the United States since 1981 but had never become a citizen. He has never voted, much less run for office.

''It's not the fair way to look at it, but I always thought becoming a US citizen meant giving up half of my history,'' said Timmer, a former Dutch citizen who was born and raised in Aruba. ''But when I hear the national anthem, I get goosebumps. I don't even know what the Dutch national anthem sounds like. When I decided I wanted to go into public service, and realized that this was what was keeping me, I wondered why I had waited so long.''

Throughout the last two decades, national elections came and went, and although Timmer was frustrated that he could not vote, he never applied for citizenship, he said. It was not until last year, when he became an active member of a Lincoln school task force, that he felt compelled to act.

Appointed to the K-8 Task Force last year by the School Committee, Timmer said he learned the intricacies of the school district's educational policies and budgeting process by helping the group create its comprehensive report. The report, released last fall, critiqued Lincoln's school system and outlined the challenges that lie ahead.

''We all worked really hard for this, and I wanted to be part of the process that carried this out,'' Timmer said. ''My attitude has always been, you have to be part of the solution. You can't complain if you don't do your part. It seems to make sense to me that I become part of the School Committee to apply what we've learned.''

While some applications for citizenship can take several years to process, Timmer's took a relatively quick eight months. Because the INS receives thousands of applications each year, they often get backlogged.

Timmer believes he was just lucky that his application was processed so soon. He applied for citizenship last March, and in November, two days after Election Day, he was sworn in at Faneuil Hall. Fittingly, the ceremony took place inside the Great Hall, where Boston's first town meetings took place.

''All of this goes along with who he is as a person,'' said Katherine McHugh, a fellow member of the task force. ''He was definitely a crucial part of the task force, and gave great insight throughout the process. He had a certain drive.''

McHugh described Timmer as the ''number cruncher'' of the group, who handled most of the work that pertained to financial projections for the school district. That work will become crucial in coming years as the district deals with financial strains.

Timmer came to the United States from Aruba in 1981 to attend Babson College. After graduation, he decided to stay and work at investment firms in New York City and Boston, and to be with his girlfriend, Deborah, who is now his wife. Deborah Timmer and their two children, 6-year-old Jessica and 3-year-old Harrison, are all American-born citizens.

Timmer so far is running uncontested for the seat on the School Committee being vacated by Anne Doyle, who guided the board through a difficult budget process during the last three school years. Candidates have until Feb. 6 to take out nomination papers and until Feb. 10 to return them to the town clerk's office.

Gail Eddy, director of the Magic Garden Children's Center in Lincoln, who has known Timmer for the last five years, said his decision to become a citizen to run for a seat on the School Committee did not surprise her.

''He consistently demonstrates and models what it means to be committed to what you believe in,'' Eddy said. ''He's not the type of person who will sit behind when something goes wrong, wishing something will be done about it. He's the one who'll go out there and do it.''

Eun Lee Koh can be reached at ekoh@globe.com.