Independent gubernatorial candidate Kevin Scott has announced an endorsement from Belfast Mayor Walter Ash Jr.

“The reason I am endorsing Kevin Scott,” Ash said in a statement released Thursday, “is he is a human being, a person I can talk to who listens to me. I want our governor to be someone who will look me in the eye and provide actual detailed solutions and plans to improve Maine. Kevin does that.”

Ash is a former Maine legislator, former president of the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad and a longtime business owner. He is in his second term as mayor of Belfast.