Occupation: I’m a carpenter, and I work on the family farm on Platt’s Hill Road, Cherry Grove. I also substitute teach in Redding on occasion.

Family: My mom and dad, Catherine Dougherty and Jerome Mayer, live here in town. I have a sister, Deirdre Dougherty, who lives in Washington, D.C.

Pets: We have one dog, Ms Belle. She’s a mutt, about 8 years old.

How long have you lived in Newtown? My whole life. I grew up here and graduated from Fairfield Prep in 2003.

What do you like to do in your free time? I do a lot of sports shooting, like skeet, and I like to shoot pool. I play a lot of cribbage. It’s kind of addicting. I do read a lot and I like old movies from the 1930s and 40s.

What are you reading right now? Right now I’m reading Cape Cod, by Thoreau, and a Nevil Shute novel. He’s a British author from the World War II period.

Do you have a favorite vacation destination? Probably Cape Cod, around the Wellington area. I get up there several times a year. It’s relaxing to hang out and go to the beach, and just take it easy.

What is the best thing about Newtown? I like the fact that my family has been here for over 150 years, and that the land has stayed in the family. It’s a nice town and a nice place to grow up in.

Do you have a favorite Newtown memory? Growing up here, during the winter I played hockey, so I loved it when Hawley Pond would freeze over and we could skate there. We even had a running joke: we’d drive by the pond in summer and say, “Hey, do you think it’s frozen over?”

Do you have a personal philosophy? It sounds trite, but I think it is: to work hard, and play hard.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? Jane Austen novels and anything connected to them. I like that they are sort of comedies of manners. Etiquette and manners are half the problem in her novels.