Nine candidates are vying for four seats in Westbrook – two each on the City Council and School Committee – with many races featuring newcomers squaring off against a political veteran.
Westbrook residents will vote in both a state referendum and municipal election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, where they will decide on the Ward 3 race and an at-large seat for City Council, and the Ward 1 race and an at-large seat for the School Committee.
All seats are for three-year terms. The city has completed the staggering of elections for local seats, which was part of charter changes approved in 2012. Previously, City Council candidates were elected to two-year seats at the same time and School Committee candidates were elected to four-year seats at the same time.
Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m.–8 p.m., where voters will also decide three state referendum questions.
Leading up to the election, candidates running for the contested seats were invited to a candidates’ forum on Tuesday at Continuum for Creativity, where they were given 10 minutes to discuss why they should be elected.
The event was organized by Explore Westbrook, an initiative run by James Tranchemontagne of the Frog & Turtle restaurant, and Mary Brooking, who owns the Continuum art space. Some 20 people attended the candidate event, including the candidates themselves.
Tranchemontagne said the purpose was to give residents a chance to hear the city’s candidates in person prior to the election.
“It’s really nice to have a point where we can come together as a city,” he said about the event. “This is all about the spirit of community. We all love Westbrook and want to see it improve.”
Each candidate, especially the political newcomers, focused on introducing themselves, providing background information, as well as why they are running for the seat.
Newcomers appear in each race. Democrat Anna Turcotte, who is running for the Ward 3 City Council seat, spoke of her childhood as an Armenian refugee who came to America with her family at a young age. She moved to Maine to attend law school and is raising a family in Westbrook. Turcotte, an operational risk officer for TD Bank, has spoken on behalf of Armenian refugees at the European Union and U.S. Congress, but said she now wants to focus locally.
Turcotte is running against a longtime councilor, Paul Emery, and former 32-year city finance director, Susan Rossignol. Rossignol, a Republican, said she’s running because the city needs to be more transparent during the budget process. She said she recently attempted to retrieve budget figures from City Hall, but didn’t receive them for some time, and when she did, they were incomplete.
“There’s very little review of these budgets,” she said.
Questions for the candidates came largely from two residents at the event. Many were focused on the school budget or issues that neighboring communities like Portland are facing, particularly the 5-cent fee imposed on plastic shopping bags.
When asked whether he would vote for a fee if proposed in Westbrook, Republican John O’Hara, the longest-serving councilor at 18 years, said, “It’s a debate the community should have.”
O’Hara, the facilities maintenance manager for the City of Portland at Portland International Jetport, said he’s running to continue his work to keep the city on its path of steady tax rates, unlike neighboring communities.
The only candidate to miss the event was Democrat Michael Dobkowski, who was out of town. Dobkowski, the CEO of Glacial Multimedia in Westbrook, is running against O’Hara.
Matt Brunner, a Republican who is running against longtime School Committee member Suzanne Salisbury for an at-large seat, said he comes from a family of teachers, and after being involved in other community organizations, decided to run for School Committee. Brunner, who is a 500 Club Ambassador for My Place Teen Center, said he would like to focus on student dropouts.
“We’re losing a lot of kids in the early years of high school,” he said. Brunner is the CEO at Comprehensive Planning Associates.
Salisbury, who has also chaired the school’s Finance Committee, as well as serving on various other boards, said she believes the school department needs to do a better job of “sharing achievements” with the community.
Incumbent Alex Stone, who is also running against a newcomer, said he’s running on his experience. He told the audience that he pushed for the proficiency-based model to be implemented in the school department, instead of pushing it down the road.
Getting the nod at the Westbrook Democratic caucus was Stone’s opponent, Democrat Steven Berry. Berry, who works for Hannaford, said Tuesday that his past experience with a Parent-Teacher Organization inspired his eventual run for School Committee. He said he wants to advocate for the kids who “don’t have a lot.”
“I want to be a new voice on the committee,” he said.
Tranchemontagne filmed all candidate speeches Tuesday, and said he will post them on the Explore Westbrook Facebook page.
School Committee candidate Matthew Brunner introduces himself during a lightly attended Meet the Candidates night Tuesday at Continuum for Creativity. The state referendum and municipal election is this Tuesday, Nov. 3. Send questions/comments to the editors.
