April 29 marked the last day residents of Windham could register as candidates for the upcoming Town Council and School Board elections. In order to be eligible, residents had to collect at least 25 signatures from registered voters in Windham. This year, 14 residents will be running as candidates in the elections.

Town Council race

In the Town Council election, Willard Blanchard, John McKinnon and Joseph Prevost will be running for David Ennis’ seat as East District Councilor.

Willard Blanchard served as a councilor for two consecutive terms from 1998 to 2004. He’s running because he believes he has the experience to serve well.

“I received a number of phone calls asking me to get back involved,” Blanchard said. “I’m very interested in the Keddy Mill project. With two of the senior councilors leaving, I think it is important to have someone with some history of what has gone on in town over the past several years.”

John MacKinnon was nominated by the Windham Democratic Party. MacKinnon is running to guide economic development and ensure Windham’s future for children.

“I’d like to carry on with the progressive approach of the former councilors as to managing a town. I want to make certain that kids’ needs are fulfilled in and out of school,” MacKinnon said. “Also, I want to make sure that town development is viewed in terms of the big picture in regards to accumulative traffic impacts, visual impacts and environmental impacts.”

Joseph Prevost was nominated by the Windham Republican Party. He is a 12-year Army veteran who is currently studying political science at USM in Portland.

“I want to be a part of the Windham local government,” Prevost said. “I’m 30 years old and I think that I would represent a younger generation in the town that are trying to raise a family and/or living paycheck to paycheck. I think that the current council’s average age affects the way this generation is represented in the town of Windham.”

Daniel Keene, Jeffrey Pierce and Carol Waig will be running for Tom Bartell’s seat as Councilor At Large.

Daniel Keene was a member of the Maine Air National Guard for 20 years and retired with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. He have been involved with the Scouts here in Windham and was Scoutmaster for Troop 802 last year.

“I have thought about running for town council for many years and at the urging of several friends, have decided to ‘throw my hat in’. “

Jeffrey Pierce was nominated by the Windham Republican party. He is a former president of Maine State Parent Teachers Association. He has also served six years on the Windham School Board.

“I really want to make a difference. That’s why I’m running,” Pierce said. “I think we need some economic development here in town. We’ve been doing some of that, and I think we need to do more.”

Carol Waig, who was a write-in candidate in last year’s election, was nominated by the Windham Democratic party. She is running to keep Windham moving in a “positive direction.”

“I am very pleased to see that the Town of Windham has been stirred up, that people are getting involved and showing an interest in where our town is heading. They are showing care, concern and an overall excitement I haven’t seen in awhile,” Waig said. “It takes more than a council to raise and keep a town. It takes pride and the feeling of ownership. I personally have both of those characteristics for our town and am looking forward to helping Windham move into a positive direction.”

School Board race

In the school board election, Anita Charles, Marjorie Govoni and Michael Mack will be running for three-year terms as new candidates.

Anita Charles was nominated by the Windham Democratic party. She has been an educator for 20 years. Currently, she teaches English at Deering High School and educational classes at Bates and St. Josephs College.

“I’m running because I think I have a lot of experience as an educator and parent that can lend new insight and new direction to our school system,” Charles said. “I have recognized the need for change and I think that I can be part of that change. I’d like to see more visibility, more inclusive of the parent’s voices and greater clarity of purpose.”

Marjorie (Marge) Govoni is retired and works part-time at the Windham Primary School cafeteria. She’s running mostly to improve communication between elected officials and residents.

“I love children. I have four children and fifteen grandchildren. I feel there is not adequate communication between the school board and the residents of Windham and would like to improve this,” Govini said. “Also I have worked with and understand budgets and plan to spend time at each of the schools so as to familiarize myself with them.”

Michael Mack was nominated by the Windham Democratic party. He is also running to improve communication.

“I think there have been a number of parents in the past year that feel their concerns were not being heard,” Mack said. “I think it’s important that the voices of parents, teachers, students should be heard. My kids are both in the school system and I want to help make some of the decisions that will be affecting their education.”

Incumbents Kate Brix, Michael Duffy and Stuart Pennels will be running to defend their seat on the school board.

Kate Brix has served on the school board for one term so far.

“When I first came on I had no idea of the magnitude of the job, and for me, although I’ve been passionate about education forever, the learning curve for this job was somewhat steep,” she said. “I’m just now feeling like I have solid footing and, because there are a lot of initiatives like No Child-Left Behind, I’m very interested in how that impacts student achievement and how we can best communicate with parents about their child’s academic progress.”

Michael Duffy has served on the school board for one term and is also the chairman of the board.

“I feel that there are many issues and programs we still have left to address for the school system,” Duffy said. “We have already started on a number of projects like the Maine Learning Results and the No Child Left Behind program and I would like have active role in the completion of these and other projects.”

Stuart (Toby) Pennels has served on the school board for one term.

“I ran three years ago primarily because I had concerns about the quality of a Windham education,” Pennels said. “I had concerns about accreditation, low standardized test scores and the college entrance of our graduates. We’ve made some great strides and the challenge now is to keep the momentum going while figuring out how we are going to pay for it.”

Mary Wassick will be running for the two-year school board position unopposed. She was appointed on an interim basis to the school board on March 9 of this year.

“I have served on the board before and again I want to be part of the process that ensures the education, safety and productivity of our students. I want to help create better communication between the community and the school, especially around new issues that may be foreign to the public.”

Linda Morrell will be running for town clerk unopposed for the third time.

“I’m running again because I really do like this job,” she said. “I like working with the public, and although this job can be challenging at times, I can honestly say that it is never boring. I’ve made some really good friends at town hall and I’ve met a lot of nice people in town.”

Both the council and School Board elections will be held on June 14th in Windham High School’s auxiliary gym. This is a candidate election only with no other issues on the ballot. Absentee ballots should be available by May 16 by request. To request an absentee ballot, call or stop by the Town Clerk’s office at the Windham Town Offices off Route 202. These ballots may be mailed in or dropped at the office after being filled out.

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