BATH — Three Bath city councilors are facing challengers in their bids for re-election next month, a sharp contrast to past elections when no candidates stepped forward at all.
Councilor-at-large James Omo is running against Julie Ambrosino. Ward 1 Councilor Gregory Page is challenged by Phyllis Bailey. And Ward 6 Councilor Susan Bauer faces Al Ferguson.
Ambrosino moved to Bath three years ago after spending vacations in midcoast Maine for a decade. She said her motivation to run is tied to a desire to have a deeper involvement in the community.
“I love the town, I really want to have a direct close proximity impact, rather than just being a citizen and bystander,” she said.
A key goal she would pursue if elected is preserving the vitality of downtown Bath as it is today, by improving the passageways into it. “I’d like to see some revitalization and beautification on the roads coming into town,” she said.
Omo was elected to the at-large position in 2014. He also was a councilor for two previous terms from 2005-2011, and runs a local company, Omo Construction.
“I’m three terms in, looking at a fourth term. I feel that we’ve got a really good council in place right now and really good administration down there, and we seem to get a lot of good things done,” he said. “This past term, it’s been such a good council, it seems like we’ve all been working really well together.”
In Ward 1, challenger Bailey is an 11-year resident and director of a national aging-in-place program for policyholders of a long-term-care insurance company.
Bailey recognizes that there are a few big decisions coming up for the council, including the hiring of a new city manager.
“I love Bath, I love the quality of life here. I’d like to make sure that all kinds of people are able to stay here and live here with young families, and live here as they get older,” she said.
Page has served on the council for three years and sits on six different committees. He’s served as chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, and was instrumental in the return of the Heritage Days chicken barbecue.
“I believe – and I’ve heard this from several people – that this is probably one of the best (council) makeups that the City of Bath has had in quite some time,” he said. The current council works very well together and has accomplished several important things, he said.
In Ward 6, Bauer is running for re-election against Ferguson. Bauer has been a councilor since 2014, and said having a few years under her belt helps with making decisions.
“I feel like it takes a year to understand really what’s happening, and what your responsibility is, and to understand the budget process,” Bauer said.
In the past few years, she’s worked steadily on the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee, including the proposed plastic bag ban and the addition of Garbage 2 Garden service in the city.
Ferguson said his motivation is to see the city move forward in several areas, including getting a handle on the opiate crisis, and bringing in green industry.
“I know that with Bath being a very building-dense city, it’s hard to get industry in. But I’m hoping I can move things forward, maybe change things a little bit. It’d be nice, refreshing,” he said.
Chris Chase can be contacted at:
cchase@coastaljournal.com
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