SACO – Voters in Ward 6 will see three names on the ballot Nov. 5, but one of them, incumbent Micah Smart, has withdrawn from the race.
Smart, who was elected in 2017, withdrew after the ballots were printed, citing a recent change in circumstances that he believed would restrict his ability to devote the necessary time to City Council responsibilities.
In the running for the two-year term are Steven Boucouvalas and Jodi MacPhail. Both are lifelong Saco residents.
Jodi MacPhail
An interest in the city and its future sparked MacPhail to run for office. “I want to be an advocate for the community,” she said.
A new school complex could mean a building consolidation of the city’s two elementary schools, she said. “This is an issue that will be the deciding factor in the growth of new families within our community, and we need representatives that understand what is at stake,” said MacPhail, who has volunteered in the school system and worked as a substitute.
MacPhail wants to develop a path for responsible riverfront development for Saco Island East, and promote economic development in other areas of the city.
She said she supports a trail and greenbelt connection plan to the River Walk and existing parks.
MacPhail, 48, works in the finance department at Tyler Technologies, a Yarmouth software developer, and is a community volunteer with Saco Main Street and in other local endeavors.
MacPhail said she wants to make sure the city is welcoming to older residents, and wants Saco to encourage young adults to stay or move to the city.
Steven Boucouvalas
Boucouvalas, 58, is a planner and emergency operations coordinator for the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He formerly worked for the city as a telecommunications dispatcher and as its Emergency Management director and was a longtime member of the Saco Fire Department.
I think (Saco) is growing faster than the city is able to keep up with,” Boucouvalas said. “There is a lot of opportunity to be able to control taxes and keep Saco affordable.”
He wants to make sure services are available at an affordable rate for Saco’s older population, while retaining and attracting more young people to the area.
“I don’t want to see Saco become just a bedroom community because they’re expensive to live in,” Boucouvalas said.
He said the city’s police, fire and public works departments need more staff to keep up with the city’s growth.
As Saco’s EMA director, he said he worked with the public works director to earn a substantial grant to help make Saco a disaster resistant community and earned other grants over the years to help fund the purchase of emergency vehicles and the like.
He sees a need for an economic development boost.
“I want to see the schools built, the city council and school department work together and see continuity and transparency,” Boucouvalas said. “When (the) school department signs a lease and allegedly, the city council doesn’t know anything about it, there’s a big issue there.”
Boucouvalas said he will fight to get the federal government to fund U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ projects to stabilize the beaches at Camp Ellis and the Saco coastline.
Tammy Wells — 207-780-9016
twells @mainelymediallc.com
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