SANFORD — Marketing professional Thomas Cote, Chamber of Commerce President Richard Stanley and long-time Councilor Bradford Littlefield are all vying to become the city’s first popularly elected mayor in elections Nov. 5.
The new mayor will take office Jan. 1.
Citing family and business obligations, Interim Mayor Maura Herlihy, elected by her city council peers in January during the transition from the former form of government, is not in the running and will revert to her council position.
Whomever is elected mayor will serve for three years, from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2016. The mayor’s seat then reverts to a two-year term.
The mayor serves as head of the city government for all ceremonial purposes, presides at all council meetings, develops the meeting agenda, and represents the council in all dealings with the city manager and with all boards, commissions and committees, but has no other regular administrative or executive duties. The mayor is considered the seventh councilor, according to the charter.
All three candidates are Sanford natives.
Ӣ Richard Stanley, 58, is married with two adult children and has been president of the Sanford Springvale Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years.
“I think I can be effective in moving the community forward,” said Stanley.
A certified economic developer, Stanley singled out economic development, customer service and improving how residents perceive the city as areas where he believes he can be effective. He said as chamber president, he and others put together a job fair that over the past three years has put 100 people back to work.
Stanley said taxpayers are “taxed out,” and that everyone in the city government has to contribute to stabilize the budget. Stanley would avoid cutting city services to lower costs, and said he would not want to be responsible for someone losing their job. He said the city will have to consider wage and benefit consolidation.
“Nonprofits like the chamber of commerce have been coping with shrinking revenues for years,” said Stanley, who said as chamber president, he took a 10 percent pay cut five years ago, and has seen no pay increases since that time. Nonprofits, he said, are used to doing more with less.
Stanley said he believes there’s room to improve the city’s customer service. He pointed out he was involved in the successful quest for an ordinance that addresses behavior of unruly tenants in multi-unit apartments, and he feels the issue can be more forcefully addressed.
Stanley has limited municipal government experience: He was a Town Meeting member many years ago, but he pointed out he’s worked around the government and chaired a number of professional organizations for two decades.
If elected, Stanley said he would abstain from city budget votes that pertain to the chamber of commerce, but sees no other conflict. As chamber president, he said he’s an advocate for businesses and residents.
“The mayor’s position should flow along with what I do at the chamber,” Stanley said.
He said he can offer a positive approach as mayor.
”¢ Thomas Cote, 43, is married with two young daughters and is a regional marketing manager for a semiconductor company. He said he was a “vocal” Town Meeting member under the previous form of government. The hefty increases in taxes during the last Town Meeting prompted him to become involved with the budget committee, and so he served as vice chairman this past year.
Fiscally, Cote said he’d like to look at “a blank canvas” to see what a flat-funded budget would look like and go from there ”“ but he acknowledged a zero percent increase budget may not be palatable.
“In the business world, when times are tight, you look at the role of each department and determine if tasks can be combined and if there are redundancies in operations,” he said.
He said the current level of city spending is unsustainable.
Cote said economic development is his first priority, and that the city has to invest in capital improvements to make sure it has the infrastructure to support business. And, he said, if the city continues to under-fund schools ”“ there were layoffs this past year that stemmed from shrinking state revenues ”“ families looking to raise children will choose to go elsewhere.
Cote said in general, people want moderation and are willing to ride out the tough times if there’s a “course forward.” He said people want to feel good about the community, want to be able to continue to live here to see the road ahead.
“That’s what they feel they’re not getting,” he said.
While there is a school of thought that growth has been stymied here because there’s no direct spur to the Maine Turnpike, Cote said Sanford is nowhere near as remote as some other, prosperous communities. Thief River Falls, in Minnesota, is remote and the roadways are “horrible,” he said, but there’s an airport similar to Sanford’s. Two major industries are next to the airport ”“ Arctic Cat and Digikey ”“ providing plenty of employment.
“There’s no reason we can’t create the same situation here,” he said.
He said Sanford has to do a better job marketing itself, and residents need to become involved in city government.
Cote has been endorsed by Herlihy, the current mayor.
Ӣ Bradford Littlefield, 61, is single and has two adult daughters. He is a field representative for banks and insurance companies and works seasonally for the Portland Water District.
He said he has a passion for the community and wants opportunities here so his daughters and others can return if they choose.
Noting the increased mil rate at $21.20, up from $19.32 the previous year, Littlefield said people have to consider that property values are lower in Sanford than communities where the tax rate is less. He estimated a homeowner with the same house in Biddeford would be paying $1,000 more in taxes, even though the mil rate there is less ”“ it is $17.53. He said Sanford has the lowest per capita tax of communities its size, but noted household income is less, and that Sanford has a “sizable” population of those receiving some form of social services.
“I’m not disparaging anyone, but you have to understand the cost to fix the problem,” he said.
Littlefield said Sanford is fiscally frugal and put money aside to cover highs and lows, and has not had to borrow money in anticipation of tax revenues. He pointed out that Sanford employs 1.9 police officers per 1,000 people of its population, while the national average is 2 1/2, and that the city has the same number of firefighters per shift ”“ nine ”“ as 30 years ago. He estimated the public works department used to employ about 35 people, but now employs fewer than 25.
He said as mayor, he would convene a community summit to measure the city’s strengths and weaknesses and develop a 10-year plan for growth. He said he’s a listener and a consensus-builder.
Littlefield said Sanford needs both economic development and skilled labor ”“ the latter which can be accomplished by the new technical and high school ”“ and he said the economic growth council needs to spread its wings into the wider world to foster more business growth. He cited his nine years as a councilor, and said he’ll be ready to go to work on day one if he’s elected mayor.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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