When he was in high school, David Twichell never intended to have children.
“The good Lord decided differently,” Twichell said during an interview with The Batavian. “Now I have 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.”
And the retired grandpa — most formerly facilities manager for Bank of America’s six states of the Northeast — spends a lot of time with the little ones. He names it as one of his biggest hobbies. Perhaps no surprise is that Twichell has also served on the city’s Youth Board.
He believes in the JFK adage, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” And so, now that has filtered “down to the city level,” the newly inducted City Councilman said.
Twichell was sworn in Monday as the Second Ward representative, temporarily filling a vacancy left by Patti Pacino until the election in November.
A homegrown Le Royan and 1973 Pavilion High School graduate, Twichell went on to work as a guard at Attica State Correctional Facility in the mid-1970s for two years. He was then picked by Genesee County Sheriff’s Office to become a deputy.
“They were looking for individuals that had training in prison activities because, of course, back in those days, all deputies started out in the jail,” he said.
He left to become a single parent. Finding child care for his various shifts proved difficult, so he did it himself, he said. He adopted his first child from his ex-wife and went on to become a foster parent over the course of 20 years. He is glad he didn’t go with those first his school inclinations.
“Raising those three children was one of the best experiences in my life,” Twichell said.
He was on standby during COVID because “you know, when a child wakes up in the morning with a runny nose, you can’t send them to school. So Grandpa got a call at six o’clock in the morning, and I did a lot of babysitting, and I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Even when The Batavian called for an interview, he couldn’t talk because he was surrounded by grandkids, he said. They range in age from 16 to 18 months. Twichell sees the glass as half full for life, including his personal schedule.
“That’s another blessing. I’m divorced. I’m single. I’m retired. So I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said. “I get up every morning. My days are wide open. And I generally filled them with grandchildren.
And I do some odd jobs on the side, just to keep myself busy as well.”
Hobbies? The 67-year-old has several motorcycles and likes to take a cross-country trip every summer. The latest one was a roundtrip that took him to Washington State, southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida. He has family in many states, “so I’ve got lots of places to stay on my trips.”
A newcomer to the government realm of an elected seat, Twichell has spent the past 15 years petitioning for young people during council meetings, he said, especially during budget sessions.
“Now I’m just looking to take that to the next level instead of representing just youth, now I’m representing the entire Second Ward,” he said. “It’s just become public that I’ve taken over the Second Ward from Patti, so I haven’t had much contact yet, but I’m anticipating a lot of future contact with my constituents.”
What challenges does the city face?
“I think some of the challenges that are gonna be forthcoming with the city are the budget, as the state seems to be giving us more and more mandates and less and less support, the new police station, all the development that's been going on with the Savarino project and Ellicott Street, etc., etc. And I think that's where we're really going to be focused with the increasing costs of personnel and fuel and labor costs,” he said. “And I think the city is facing some real fiscal challenges here in the future. And I'm looking forward to working with City Council and the city manager in addressing those issues.”
How will you get to know your constituents and what they think are city issues?
"What I'm planning on doing is primarily going door-to-door, but also putting out a public invitation for my Second Ward constituents and maybe have a picnic in the park or hot dogs and hamburgers. Something of that along those lines."
A motto you live by?
"I live by my faith, my family and my city," he said. "This is where I live. This is where I plan on spending my retirement until my last days. I'm not going anywhere, and am looking forward to these challenges."
He plans to run for the seat in November. His platform is to “ensure a level or reduced taxation structure while maintaining the same level of city services.”
Second Ward City Councilman David Twichell. Photo by Joanne Beck.
