Previous Offices Held
None.
Top Three Priorities
a)Institute exemplary government practices & create a city government culture that welcomes resident participation
b)Protect city services while seeking opportunities for their enhancement while working within constraints to fund them
c)Steward & enhance Old Town’s environment
Why are you running?
Our democracy works best with active citizen participation. I’ve devoted my adult life to encouraging participation in our civic life. I am offering my 40+ years of experience working to affect public policy and boost public participation. I am a proven leader who has fought for and accomplished significant changes increasing environmental & social justice at the local, county, state, and international levels. Now I want to apply all those skills and experiences to enhance Old Town.
What is the biggest challenge facing your town/county? The biggest opportunity?
The biggest challenge facing Old Town is the expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill. Maine has failed to follow the solid waste management hierarchy and instead relies on the lowest ranked management option, landfilling, to manage much of the state’s waste. Old Town has been sacrificed by the state’s failure to follow its own law. Old Town’s biggest opportunity is strengthening its relationship with the Penobscot Nation and partnering with it on economic development and public services.
If you could change one thing about how the town/county functions, what would it be and why?
Stop Old Town from serving as a dump for much of Maine due to the Juniper Ridge Landfill. Landfills inevitably leak. Judkins Brook and Pushaw Stream run near the border of the Juniper Ridge Landfill. Both empty into the Penobscot River. The Penobscot River is already polluted by Juniper Ridge leachate processed without adequate treatment and dumped into it. We must stop making the environmental catastrophe worst by blocking expansion of Juniper Ridge and instituting a zero-waste reality.
Do you support more development – i.e. more housing construction and business building in your town/county? Why or why not?
I support properly sited housing construction and business development that protects the environment and respects Old Town residents’ ability to enjoy their properties. Old Town just adopted a Comprehensive Plan that can serve as a useful guide to direct development in the community.