Six long-time South Portland residents known for civic activism or championing local causes have taken out nomination papers to run for two available seats on the South Portland City Council.
Although their politics may differ, the six have a lot in common. All are long-time residents in their 40s and 50s involved in local causes and well known in South Portland.
Three previously served in elective office, and five have been active on city boards or committees.
The need for change and reform emerge as a theme among several of them. Some also noted a desire to give back to a city where they grew up and raised their families.
The hopefuls include incumbent Linda Boudreau, who plans to seek a sixth term for one of two at-large council seats.
Ralph Baxter, who holds the other seat, is retiring from city politics after 10 years.
Other possible candidates are environmentalist Tom Blake, former school board member Don Legere, former city councilor and state lawmaker Louis Maietta Jr., former planning board member Paul Nixon and local activist Valorie Swiger, who led a controversial effort to place yellow ribbons on public property in defiance of a city ban.
The six have until Sept. 10 to turn in their completed papers as well as petitions signed by 100 to 300 registered voters in South Portland. This week, Boudreau was the first candidate to turn in papers and signatures to be verified.
The following are descriptions of the residents and their background. They are listed in alphabetical order:
Tom Blake
Tom Blake is newly retired after serving as a paramedic-firefighter in South Portland for 26 years.
Blake also is an ardent environmentalist who has served in leadership positions with the South Portland Land Trust since it began in 1987. Blake currently is president of the land trust, an office he held once before.
“I have 55 years in a community I absolutely love,” said Blake, a South Portland native. “I am a strong environmentalist and a people person. Running for the city council seemed to be a good fit for me now that I’m retired.”
Blake chairs the West End Trails Committee, which is working to improve parks, sidewalks and trails in the city’s more urban neighborhoods. The group just completed a trail around Clark’s Pond, which is across Westbrook Street from Wild Willy’s Burgers, near the Maine Mall.
Blake also is captain of the Engine One Call Company, made up of volunteer firefighters, a post he would have to resign if he won a seat on the council. He directs the Middle School & High School Track and Field Conference and has coached the Unum Group track team for more than two decades. The team of corporate athletes has won five national championships, and Blake was inducted into the United States Corporate Athletics Association Hall of Fame.
Blake has four grown children and four grandchildren, with a fifth on the way.
Linda Boudreau
Incumbent Linda Boudreau, 57, is a veteran councilor completing her fifth term in office.
“In 15 years on the council, it amazes me there is always something new to learn for someone like me,” said Boudreau, a three-time South Portland mayor.
Boudreau notes as important two council votes she made against major spending plans during her most recent term in office. She was in the minority each time.
Boudreau was one of two councilors to oppose the city’s purchase of the former armory building for $675,000. The city considers it a potential site for future city offices.
She also was one of two councilors to oppose sending an $85 million proposal to voters to build a new high school. Voters will decide on the bond issue in November.
Boudreau wants the council to inventory spending needs first before considering big-ticket proposals. “We need to look at the money we have and decide what we can afford to do,” said Boudreau.
Boudreau, who is a mother and grandmother, also sits on numerous boards and committees. She chairs ecomaine, a nonprofit waste management company owned and operated by 21 municipalities in southern Maine. She is on the Jetport Noise Abatement Study Committee and the Spring Point Lease Committee, which oversees the city’s lease agreement with Spring Point Marina.
She also serves on the Cumberland County Budget Advisory Committee and the board of Southern Maine Community College.
She chairs the Institute for Civic Leadership, which trains leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors.
Don Legere
Don Legere is a 45-year-old sales manager at Haven’s Candies, which he describes as “a sweet job.” He previously owned and operated Blake, Hall and Sprague Insurance Agency, located in the Mill Creek business area, from 1990 to 2004.
Legere, a past president of the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce, said he wants to “use his business mind” to help the council make smart policy decisions.
Legere served in elective office one other time as a South Portland school board member in the early 1990s. He has broad experience serving on city boards. He was a member of the South Portland Recreation Facilities Committee that put together the bond referendum that led to the creation of the city’s community center and Wainwright Field.
Legere also chaired the East-West Connector Committee, which studied a proposal for building a road to connect Highland Avenue with Main Street.
Legere, a third-generation South Portland resident, said he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who were both active in civic affairs.
“The city has made some poor decisions recently,” Legere said, noting the sudden resignation of City Manager Ted Jankowski less than a year after he was hired.
“I’m tired of reading about the city I grew up in a negative way. I want to work more positively.”
Louis Maietta Jr.
Louis Maietta Jr., 50, is a former city councilor and Republican state representative who served District 26.
Maietta and his family have long been involved in city politics and civic activities.
Most recently, Maietta voiced support for Valorie Swiger’s efforts to post yellow ribbons throughout the city in support of U.S. troops in Iraq. He also has led a petition drive to force the city council to allow yellow ribbons on city-owned property, according to published reports.
Maietta provided the use of the Thomas Room, his banquet facility, to the families and friends of Jason Swiger and Angel Rosa, two soldiers from South Portland killed in Iraq. Maietta criticized the city’s order to remove the ribbons, which violated local ordinance.
He is an officer in the family run Maietta Construction Inc., which primarily does excavation and earth-moving for large development projects that have included the Target department store and the Portland Jetport runway. Maietta Construction employs 130 people, according to the company Web site.
Maietta has three children. He did not return phone calls for comment about his potential bid for office.
Paul Nixon
Paul Nixon, 55, is a retired merchant mariner and lifetime city resident who says he wants tighter controls on city spending.
“Our taxes are too high and we don’t get enough in services for them,” says Nixon, a former planning board member.
Nixon criticized the city for not seeking public support for its purchase of the former armory building as a potential site for city offices.
“The city spends needlessly for things we don’t really need,” Nixon said. “We need to reduce our tax burden.”
Nixon previously made an unsuccessful bid for the Maine State Legislature, losing to Democrat Lawrence Bliss in House District 122.
Nixon was among the volunteers who offered help to the Swiger and Rosa families after the two soldiers from South Portland were killed in Iraq.
Nixon describes himself as a good friend of Valorie Swiger, though he was not involved in posting yellow ribbons in South Portland.
“I’m a military person. My brother has been in Iraq six times,” Nixon said. “I don’t support the war per say, but I do support the troops fighting, no matter where they are sent.”
Valorie Swiger
Valorie Swiger, who is in her 50s, is familiar to residents for her efforts to post yellow ribbons on public land.
Swiger is a long-time resident of South Portland. Her 24-year-old son, Army Sgt. Jason Swiger, was killed in Iraq in March.
His death occurred two weeks after another South Portland resident, Marine Lance Cpl. Angel Rosa, was killed in Iraq.
In 2003, Swiger began putting yellow ribbons on telephone poles as a tribute to her son and other troops. She was ordered to take them down because they violated an ordinance banning ribbons, posters and other items on public property.
After the deaths of Jason Swiger and Rosa, the council lifted the ban for 30 days. But Swiger and her supporters continued to hang the ribbons through the summer, prompting complaints from some residents.
Acting City Manager Jim Gailey recently said that Swiger agreed to stop putting up new ribbons after the city pledged to form a committee to explore the idea of erecting a permanent war memorial. Swiger is expected to take part in that effort.
Swiger did not return calls about her interest in running for office. She has consistently refused to talk to the press. Her supporters say she is concerned that her quotes will be taken out of context.
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