WESTBROOK – On Nov. 2, Westbrook voters will elect six members to the new Charter Commission aimed at examining the city’s charter. Voters narrowly approved a proposal to create the Charter Commission in June.
Three of its members will be City Council appointees. The other six will be elected by popular vote. Those running are Patricia Amico, Lisa Chuluda, Charles Ewing, Andrew Gattine, Marc Gousse, Michael Levine, Michael Mullett, George Rodrigues, Susan Rossignol and Eileen Shutts.
The American Journal asked the 10 candidates to fill out a questionnaire requesting biographical information and responses to two questions asking their thoughts about the city charter.
Question 1:
Why are you running for Charter Commission and what do you think needs to be changed about the charter?
Question 2:
What experiences and knowledge do you have that would benefit the Charter Commission?
Their answers are as follows:
Patricia Amico
Age: 55
Address: 105 Lyman St.
Professional/political experience: Member of the Westbrook Democratic Committee, secretary of the Westbrook Education Association, past director of Westbrook Development Corp. (Westbrook Housing), member of the Mercy Auxiliary, volunteer with the Westbrook Food Pantry and Committee member of the Westbrook Thrift Shop.
1. Having helped on many campaigns in the past I believe the terms for City Council need to be addressed. I believe we should stagger the positions so that we potentially are not replacing all seven seats at the same time. I also believe that the terms should be lengthened to three-year terms. People running for these positions need to campaign and when it happens every two years it is quite time consuming and also very expensive. Also explore potential changing of School Committee terms from four to three years as it might encourage more interest in running for the position.
2. Serving on many boards past and present will definitely be an asset to serving on the Charter Commission.
Lisa A. Chuluda
Age: 34
Address: 618 Spring St.
Professional/Political experience: None
1. I believe our charter in its current form is not in need of any significant changes, and I want to ensure that those reviewing it are not doing so with some ulterior motive in mind. While the vote to create the commission was close, I believe that there was no real discussion about what is in need of change, and I do not want to see it torn apart so that it adversely impacts the form of government that has been the fabric of our great city since its inception.
2. I am the daughter of former Mayor and City Councilor Bruce Chuluda and have watched and listened to him over his time of service to the people of Westbrook. I have watched how our city government has functioned during his time as an elected official, and I believe that I can objectively look at the charter and make recommendations for minor changes if needed.
Charles Ewing
Age: 55
Address: 176 Carlson St.
Professional/political experience: Engineer
1. Reviewing the city charter is largely the responsibility of the citizens (albeit working cooperatively with city officials). As a resident who cares about the city, it seems like a way I can contribute to my community. And, the idea of reviewing the charter, and seeing what works well and what doesn’t, interests me.
I don’t have a list of proposed changes to the charter. I do have questions. For example, has the city been well served by the present division of powers between the mayor and the City Council? I look forward to hearing what people have to say on both sides of this and many other questions.
2. I have served on various committees – church, property management, etc. – but have no experience working with city government. I hope to bring an open mind to the discussions, and thoughtfulness and thoroughness to the process.
Drew Gattine
Age: 47
Address: 529 Stroudwater St.
Professional/political experience: Former assistant attorney general; currently a health care executive; Ward 2 city councilor (2004-2010); director, Westbrook Environmental Improvement Committee
1. I’m anxious to assist in the process of examining how we can improve government in Westbrook. The current charter has served the citizens well, but frankly there were many occasions when, as a councilor, I would turn to the charter for guidance and find it lacking. I think Westbrook should retain its strong mayor government, but in many respects the time has come to examine the relationship between the cayor and the City Council. There is a meaningful lack of clarity around important areas of authority such as spending power and control over meeting agendas. The separation of the City Council (consisting of the seven elected councilors) and the Municipal Officers (the seven councilors plus the mayor) seems antiquated and should be examined.
2. I come to the table with an open mind and very few pre-conceived notions of what the end result should be. I was privileged to serve on the City Council for six years and I had the opportunity to experience what works and what doesn’t. My professional career has been devoted to helping make government more efficient and productive and I hope to deploy that experience for the benefit of Westbrook’s citizens.
Marc Edward Gousse
Age: 50
Address: 125 Stroudwater St.
Professional/political experience: Educational administrator (28 years experience), Board of Directors, Westbrook Development Corp. (2010-present), U.S. Navy (23 years) retired commander (O-5), former city councilor, Lewiston
1. I wish to serve my community on the charter commission by sharing my background and expertise as a former city councilor. At this point, I am uncertain the charter needs to be changed. I believe the first step in this process is to review the entire document for clarity and consistency. Following that, the entire commission can discuss any potential recommendations for modifications to the charter and possible revisions may be forwarded to the present City Council and mayor for review and/or action if applicable.
2. Beyond my experience as a former city councilor, I have served on a number of public/private boards, foundations and committees. I have an extensive background and experience in developing/amending policies, by-laws, and procedures.
Michael Levine
Age: 43
Address: 17 Puritan Drive
Professional/political experience: Insurance software development: managing teams of quality assurance and customer satisfaction professionals. Veterinary manufacturing: quality assurance auditor, contract consulting. Service work: project management, retail communications. No previous political experience.
1. I have a strong desire to be a representative voice for my community, and the results of this commission’s actions will act as a cornerstone of how we choose to live together. It’s important.
What needs to be changed beyond some of the dated language remains to be identified through proper public vetting. There appear to be differences of opinion on at least one front, namely the value of a strong, weak, or hybrid mayor-council system. Only through careful collaborative consideration, talking with all sides, and involving the public openly, will we identify what is necessary beyond the noted cleanup.
2. I bring 18 years of experience building and working with teams toward common goals, establishing trust, commitment, accountability, and delivering results to those we serve. And although I lack previous exposure to Westbrook politics, I would suggest that having no predetermined political agenda is critical to this role, considering the recognized goal of representing the public voice when looking at how our officials use the power they are granted, and how we are being served by our government.
Michael J. Mullett
Age: 39
Address: 135 Pride St.
Professional/political experience: Five years as Realtor; previously, a University of Southern Maine staff member in various positions for 14 years (1994-2008). Recreational Soccer League volunteer, serving as vice president
1. I don’t know what, if anything, needs to be changed about the charter. I have always had an interest in the way that different organizations such as towns and cities are structured and I am curious if the system we currently have is the best one possible or if there are some changes we could make that would make our town run more smoothly and efficiently.
2. I served on various committees and worked on several projects, through my career at USM, that needed a broad perspective – helping to restructure certain departments or areas to make them work better. I feel that these experiences, combined with my degrees in social work and education, have helped make me someone who can take a careful, thoughtful look at a situation, research options and alternatives, and make suggestions to attempt to make that situation better. That is how I would approach my position on the Charter Commission.
George Rodrigues
Age: 54
Address: 184 Carlson St.
Professional/political experience: Scientist-engineer working in Westbrook. Current chairman for the United States committee for laboratory equipment at the International Standards Organization (ISO). First time running for elected position.
1. I am running to give voters a choice, and will make sure that the commission operates in a fair, open and unbiased way. The city charter is the “constitution” for the city. It needs to be written clearly and in plain English, so that anyone can understand how city government is supposed to work. There are some opportunities to clean up old-fashioned language and better define responsibilities of the various city boards and committees. I haven’t heard of any need for major changes, but am willing to listen and look forward to your thoughts.
2. I’ve participated in a variety of community proceedings before the City Council, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and School Committee. Through these experiences I’ve become familiar with how city government works, and I’ve carefully read the charter and city ordinances to understand how they apply. My work on scientific committees has taught me how to find true consensus among different people. I’d appreciate your vote and look forward to moving Westbrook forward.
Susan R. Rossignol
Age: 61
Address: 54 Conant St.
Professional/political experience: Former Westbrook finance director of 32 years, treasurer, tax collector, accountant, finance department manager
1. I will be responsible to the people of Westbrook, not the political parties. Have we not had enough change over the past 22 months in this country? Why change the charter when it has worked well for so many years. I have worked under the charter for over 30 years and yes, there are things that we like and some we do not, but overall the process is fair.
It allows for an administrative process (mayor) elected by the people (not a political group as in some other communities). After dealing with the annual appointment process for many, many years, I have good reasons to want change, as the current mayor used her power to remove me from office without even a conversation, without even a thank you for 32 years of service to the community. In past years when a mayor wanted to make changes they at least warned the people involved shortly after the election that changes would be made. The city still owes me pay in the amount of near $13,000, again the mayor has the power to pay or not and let’s not forget the fact that I have been banned from City Hall for one year (a taxpayer not allowed to enter the building they pay taxes to maintain) with no communication with the mayor as she evidently has a personal/political agenda. With all said this has nothing to do with the charter but the individual elected. Any changes in the future should be allowed but done with courtesy and notice to any appointed position holders as well as equal treatment to all, not just supporters, friends and family.
The legislative process allows the people to make any appropriate changes every two years if they deem it warranted. And the council’s role is to deal with the laws and rules for the city, which is being done now. I believe that most issues are created due to a lack of accountability, allowing certain departments to make changes without being held responsible to the standing contracts or policies in place and not taking action on personnel issues immediately, thus making it difficult to eliminate many of the problems within the City organization and that again has nothing to do with the city charter.
2. I have experienced the charter for over 30 years. I never played any part with politics and always kept quiet when it came to public political conversations. I believe that the citizens of Westbrook need someone who will not answer to any party but to thepeople. Not make changes because we can, but to think about what that change will do to our city.
Eileen Shutts
Age: 49
Address: 42 Monroe Ave.
Professional/political experience: Legal assistant/paralegal, Perkins Thompson P.A.; no elected political experience.
1. The charter is our primary governing tool and has not been reviewed for 50-plus years. In recent years, questions have arisen the answers to which were “the Charter says so” or “only if the Charter is revised,” which may be positive or negative depending on one’s point of view on any given issue. This, and the need to bring language current, makes review of the charter timely and useful. I would bring good questions, perspectives and research skills to this process and would enjoy doing so. I have no preconceived opinions as to any changes. The goal would be the best we can achieve in terms of sound and efficient interaction of our community functions, now and perhaps for generations to come. I look forward to researching the various options and learning how they have worked or not in other communities, as well as what works or doesn’t from perspectives in Westbrook (elected and appointed officials, city employees, citizens).
2. I have lived in Westbrook all my life and been a citizen participant in many community matters over the years. My employment has brought me familiarity with municipal government and local and state legislative process. I served on the city’s Ordinance Committee 2001-2003 after adoption of the 2000 Comprehensive Plan; served on the School Department’s Service Learning Leadership Team 2005-2007, and served on the Westbrook Development Collaborative 2007-2009.
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