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Showing posts with label candidates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candidates. Show all posts

Friday, October 14, 2022

Candidates make pitch for local votes

By Ed Pierce

Voting is the expression of a community’s commitment to their neighbors and to one another and here in Windham and Raymond, that allegiance will once again be demonstrated on Tuesday, Nov. 8 when area residents head to the polls to cast their ballots in state and local races.

Candidate signs for the upcoming election proliferate
on the median at the intersection of School Road and 
Route 202 in Windham. The general election across 
Maine will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8. 
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE
One elected position to be determined is Maine Senate District 26 representing Windham and Raymond, where current the incumbent, Bill Diamond, a Democrat from Windham, is term-limited and his seat will be filled by either Gary Plummer of Windham, a Republican, or Tim Nangle of Windham, a Democrat.

Plummer is a lifelong resident of Windham and a retired teacher who has served on the Windham Town Council, the Cumberland County Commission, as a Maine State Representative and in the Maine State Senate. Nangle is a former Windham Town Councilor who works as a Help Desk Technician.

Three seats in the Maine House of Representatives will also be decided by voters in the election.

For Maine House District 86, representing Raymond, Casco, Frye Island, and part of Poland, two candidates are on the ballot. Jessica Fay of Raymond, a Democrat, is a florist and an incumbent seeking re-election in a newly renumbered district. Fay is opposed by Republican Greg Foster of Raymond, a forester and business owner.

In Windham, two candidates are vying to represent Windham in Maine House District 107, which has been renumbered but is the seat being vacated by current State Rep. Patrick Corey, who also is term-limited and cannot seek re-election this election cycle. Newcomer Michael Hall of Windham, a Republican, is a project manager and supervisor for a biotechnology company and a small business owner who is opposed by former State Representative Jane Pringle of Windham, a Democrat. Pringle is a retired primary care physician and physician educator who served in the Maine Legislature from 2012 to 2014.



Two candidates are competing for the right to represent Windham in the newly renumbered Maine House District 106. Democrat Mark Bryant has represented this district in the past but also is term-limited for this election. Barbara Bagshaw of Windham, a Republican and an art educator and nanny, is opposed by Democrat Dana Reed of Windham, a retired U.S. Navy chaplain and a music educator.

Campaigning for election to a five-year term as a Portland Water District Trustee representing Windham and Raymond is Louise Douglas of Windham. Douglas was first elected to the Portland Water District board in 2017 and has served as the Portland Water District’s Trustees chair for the past two years.

Several RSU 14 Board of Directors seats are on the ballot in November.

Voters will choose two individuals to serve in three-year positions on the RSU 14 Board of Directors representing Windham from a field of three candidates.

Incumbent Marge Govoni of Windham, who is retired, is the former RSU 14 board chair and is seeking re-election. Govoni has served on the RSU 14 Board of Directors since 2008 and is a member of the Windham Planning Board and one of the founders of the Windham Community Garden.

Former board member Christina Small of Windham also is a candidate for the RSU 14 Board. She was first appointed to a seat on the board in 2020 to fill a vacancy and served through 2021. She is the noon monitor at Windham Primary School.

First-time candidate Caitlynn Downs of Windham is also running for one of the available RSU 14 Board of Directors seats. Downs is an office manager for State Farm Insurance and has volunteered as a Big Sister with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Organization for more than 10 years and was honored as the organization’s “Match of the Year” in 2019.

All three candidates on the ballot for Windham Town Council are unopposed.

John Henry of Windham is running for an At-Large position for town council for a three-year term. He is a civil engineer and formerly served as a member of the Windham Planning Board in 2007.

Current Windham Town Council Chair Jarrod Maxfield is unopposed for re-election to represent the town’s North District for a three-year term. Maxfield is a business owner who has served as a town councilor since 2016.
Nicholas Kalogerakis is unopposed for re-election to a three-year term on the council representing the South District. He is a businessman who has served on the town council since 2019. He’s also served on the town’s Long Range Planning Committee, the Windham Economic Committee, and the Windham Planning Board. <

Editor’s note: Please see candidate profiles and Q&A in this edition for State Senate and Maine House candidates from Windham and Raymond. Next week’s newspaper will include candidate profiles for RSU 14’s Board of Directors and the Windham Town Council.

Friday, September 16, 2022

Candidate field set for November election

The field of candidates for Maine's General Election on
Nov. 8 has been finalized with voting scheduled at
Windham High School for Windham residents
and Jordan-Small Middle School for Raymond residents.
COURTESY PHOTO 
By Ed Pierce

It’s been said that voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves and each other and once more on Nov. 8, residents of Windham and Raymond will visit polling places to cast ballots to shape the future of the community.

According to Windham Town Clerk Linda Morrell and Raymond Town Clerk Sue Look, the field of candidates for the election has been finalized and those running for office will now make their case to the public leading up to Election Day.

In Windham, three candidates for the Windham Town Council are unopposed.

Town Council Chair Jarrod Maxfield is unopposed in his bid for re-election to represent the town’s North District for a three-year term, while South District incumbent Nicholas Kalogerakis is unopposed for re-election to a three-year term. Maxfield has represented the North District of Windham since 2016. Kalogerakis was elected to represent the South District on the council in 2019.

John Henry is unopposed for election to the At-Large position for town council in Windham for a three-year term. Councilor Ed Ohmott chose not to seek re-election for the At-Large seat. 

Two three-year positions on the RSU 14 Board of Directors representing Windham will be decided on Election Day by voters choosing from a field of three candidates. 

Incumbent Marge Govoni, a former RSU 14 board chair, is seeking re-election. Two other candidates are on the ballot, including former board member Christina Small, who was first appointed to a seat on the board in 2020 to fill a vacancy. Small announced that she would be a candidate for a permanent seat on the board in 2021 but later withdrew her name for consideration for that position. First-time candidate Caitlynn Downs is also running for one of the RSU 14 Board of Directors seats.

Also running for a five-year term as a Portland Water District Trustee representing Windham and Raymond is Louise Douglas of Windham. Douglas was first elected to the Portland Water District board in 2017 and has served as Trustees chair since 2020.

For the State Senate District 26 seat representing Windham and part of Raymond, two candidates are vying to replace incumbent Bill Diamond, a Democrat, who is term-limited and cannot run for re-election this year. Former Windham Town Councilor Tim Nangle, a Democrat, will face former State Senator and State Representative Gary Plummer, a Republican.

Maine legislative districts have been renumbered for the next term and the two incumbent representatives for Windham, State Rep. Patrick Corey, a Republican, and State Rep. Mark Bryant, a Democrat, are both term-limited and cannot run for re-election during this election cycle.

For the newly renamed Maine House District 106, newcomer Dana Reed, a Democrat, will face Barbara Bagshaw, a Republican, for the right to represent Windham in the Legislature. Bagshaw was a candidate for a seat on the RSU 14 Board of Directors in 2021.

In the newly renamed Maine House District 107, newcomer Michael Hall, a Republican, will oppose Jane Pringle, a Democrat, to represent Windham in the 131st Maine Legislature. Pringle formerly represented Windham’s District 111 as state representative from 2012 to 2014. Hall is a member of Windham’s Human Services Advisory Committee.

Incumbent Jessica Fay, a Democrat, is seeking re-election in a newly redrawn and renumbered House District 86 representing Raymond, Casco, and Poland. She is opposed by Republican Greg Foster, who defeated Karen Lockwood in the primary in June for the opportunity to oppose Fay in the election.

There are no statewide referendums on this year’s ballot. A referendum to change Maine’s primary utility company into a quasi-public agency has been tabled until 2023 because organizers indicated they did not have the necessary signatures before the deadline to make the November ballot. <