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. <

In loving memory of Thomas William Gleason 1948-2016 - By Walter Lunt

"We miss you already, Tommy.” (Windham Town Hall staff)
 

To family and to those who knew and loved Tommy Gleason, he will be remembered as the guy with the big Irish heart and a passion for all things mechanical.

Gleason died of heart failure on May 11 while he and his wife, Nancy, were visiting an aunt in New Jersey. The sudden and tragic event left his family, friends and community in shock.

Hundreds gathered at three separate devotional services last Tuesday to remember and pay final respects to the family man, town councilor, engineer, mechanic, handyman, gardener and all-around good guy who always had time to say hello, lend an ear or help out.

Nancy Gleason said the outpouring of support at the Dolby Funeral Chapel, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Town Hall auditorium was “Beyond my wildest dreams.” She singled out eulogies delivered by Tommy’s older brother, Tim, and by Windham Town Manager Tony Plant as particularly inspiring. That was Tommy, “…they hit the nail on the head,” commented his younger brother, Todd.

“Everything was done with class and dignity,” said Nancy. But the procession from Town Hall, through Windham, to the church was the most moving and impressionable for her. The hearse, limo and police and fire vehicles departed past a line of town workers holding a sign “We miss already, Tommy,” and proceeded over Windham Center Road, River Road to Newhall, Gray Road to Foster’s Corner, and then Route 302 to the church in North Windham. Town workers stood in solitary beside their freshly shined vehicles at the public works garage, public safety building and fire house. One family member commented on the procession, “He (Tommy) is standing on the roof of that lead fire truck, smiling and waving and loving every minute of this.”

Gleason was born in New York City. He developed a penchant for building and fixing at age 12 when he helped his father rebuild the family home in Queens. He repeated a similar task with his own family years later when he and wife Nancy upgraded a historic farmhouse in Windham.

After high school, Gleason pursued a career in bio-chemistry, attending St. Francis College in Biddeford (now University of New England). 

“He was a whiz in math and science,” according to Nancy. Finding limited opportunities in that field, he returned to New York and found his calling in mechanical engineering. After a few years of operating cranes and other heavy equipment he became director of training for the trade that was his passion. He taught newbies in the classroom and on the job.

By the 90s, Tommy and Nancy were ready to leave the stress and crowded living of New York. Recalling his days in Biddeford and later in Portland attending engineering seminars, Tommy moved with Nancy and their two daughters, Melanie and Kathleen, to Gorham, and later to Windham. Soon after the move, Tommy became interested in local politics while protesting an inventory tax. It was during this time he met Lane Hiltunen. The two became fast friends and political pundits, often attending and speaking out at local municipal meetings. 

“When we showed up at the meetings you’d hear people say, ‘Here come the two troublemakers’,” Hiltunen said. Their banter and opinions soon took to the airwaves on Standish community radio station WJZF – 97.1. For two years The Tommy and Lane Show featured guests and gab and covered all topics from local roads to international relations. It was during one of their once a week, two hour broadcasts that Lane assigned a nickname to his broadcast partner. Station owner and producer, the late David Patterson, had playfully inserted sound effects of explosions and gun fire under Tommy’s more opinionated remarks, earning him the title Tommy Gun.

Soon after the radio show ran its course, Gleason decided to make a run for local political office. His first attempt at a seat on the Windham Town Council ended in defeat, but a second try in 2010 was successful.

“He wanted people to be happy with their government,” according to Hiltunen, “he’d give you the shirt off his back, but he wouldn’t give you somebody else’s shirt.” And people weren’t intimidated by him. “His constituents were not afraid to call him.”

Fellow town councilor David Nadeau found it difficult to discuss his close relationship with Gleason. “How do you explain a friend?” he said. But he did discuss two of Gleason’s more passionate issues: Budgets and rural character.

“He wanted to move Windham forward through planning a smart budgeting. He believed in long range planning, anticipating problems down the road, and setting budgets that would reflect that,” Nadeau explained. He said crisis management was not his style. And Gleason was an ardent supporter of Windham’s 21^st Century Downtown plan designed to improve traffic and pedestrian movement and sense of place in North Windham. Wife Nancy affirmed her husband wanted to maintain Windham’s rural character.

Tom Bartell, Windham’s Economic Development Director, remembers serving on the town council when Gleason attended the meetings regularly. 

“You start out thinking this guy’s an adversary,” he remembered, “but then you realize our intentions are similar.” He was speaking from the standpoint of working out the differences. “He respected good government and liked a good debate.”

More recently Gleason was the council appointed member of the Windham Economic Development Corporation, which Bartell now directs. “His common sense and clear thinking was a calming factor. His construction background added perspective” when big projects were under discussion. His attitude was “Let’s not get this one wrong. This is very important. He was a very practical thinker.”

Council chairperson Donna Chapman’s feelings echoed those of others who worked closely with Gleason. “He was an awesome, big-hearted man.” She said even if you didn’t see eye-to-eye with Gleason you knew he respected your views and was always ready to work through problems. 

Chapman helped spearhead the “dignitary funeral” for Gleason. “It’s a fitting way to send him off.”

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Hiltunen reflected on Gleason’s misfortunes. “He been down a lot, but he always gets right back up.” A few years ago, the car he was driving was struck by a drunk driver, leaving Gleason with months of convalescence and the loss of some feeling on his left side. “I would tell him,” said Hiltunen, “I’m not standing close to you if you’re carrying a hammer in your left hand.” Gleason twice suffered from a lung infection and was undergoing dialysis. Worst of all was the death 12 years ago of his younger daughter, Kathleen of a brain tumor at the age of 24.

Asked about their life together, Nancy recalled their first date, which didn’t happen. “He stood me up to go with his friends to a race at National Speedway on Long Island. He called me the next day to ask when we could go out. I told him “How about tonight? Or never.” They did go out. And their next anniversary would have been their 45^th.