Wanda Emery is one of four challengers trying to unseat two incumbents for selectmen in the election on Tuesday.
Emery, 44, now a member of the planning board, is a lifelong Buxton resident. She and her husband, Larry Emery, live on Bruce Woods Road. They have four children ages 10 to 24.
She knows the town and its people. “I enjoy helping people and solving problems,” she said.
Buxton voters will decide Tuesday whether to borrow $1.8 million for a new public works garage adjacent to town hall. Emery said the current garage in Buxton Center is outmoded and doesn’t have proper safety equipment, but she thinks the one proposed is too expensive.
“We need a new town garage but I’m not sure if the current cost estimates are necessary,” Emery said.
She also favors the town paying as it goes. “We’ve been debt free for some time,” she said.
Emery once worked as a clerk in town hall and as secretary for the planning board. She favors instituting team-building, motivational programs for town departments to instill value.
“Employees that feel valued are more motivated and thus work more efficiently. I feel this type of approach benefits the employees as well as the town and would require very little money to implement,” she said.
Emery has political experience and she is now finishing a three-year term on the planning board. In addition to the planning board, Emery has also been elected to the charter commission and a three-year term on the budget committee.
She favors regular meetings between selectmen and planning board members to keep the lines of communications open. She supports adding the position of a part-time town planner.
She was also appointed to the town’s recreation committee. As a volunteer, she also served in the past on committees for the toy box and the town’s newsletter.
In her professional career, Emery is the office administrator at St. Germain’s Associates in Westbrook.
She wants to serve Buxton as selectman. “I think I have a lot of experience that I would bring to the position and be an asset to the town,” Emery said.
Cutline (Wanda Emery) – Wanda Emery
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