Ada Brown, 78, a Democrat who lives at 71 Anderson Road, Raymond, is running for re-election to the Raymond Board of Selectmen. She has been a Selectman since 1997.

A graduate of Gorham High School and cosmetology school, she owned her own beauty shop for almost 50 years. During her 10 years in the State Legislature, she served on a number of committees, including the Local and County Government Committee, the Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, the Legal Affairs Committee, and the Education Committee, on which she served as chairperson.

Why are you running for the Board of Selectmen?

Ada Brown: I’m running again because I have the time and I have the experience. I feel…I can be of value to the town… I like reading all the material; I like keeping up with what’s going on and I do that very well. I’m a very well informed selectman

How do you think you can work with a board, whose opinions may vary at times, to effect change?

Brown: I’ve always been able to work with the board we’ve had. I’ve worked with several different boards since I’ve been on. We don’t always agree but I am quite persuasive at times. We have managed to have a majority on things I believe in.

What do you think has prepared you for this position?

Brown: Well, actually, I don’t think you are prepared until you go on it because it’s something different every year, but I think the interests that I have had in town affairs ever since I was able to vote has helped me. When I lived in Gorham I was always involved in town affair. My father was very involved and he just instilled in me the interest that I have.

What do you think is the biggest single challenge that the Town of Raymond faces in the next three years?

Brown: I think the biggest challenge is probably the growth of the town. We don’t want to change how beautiful the town is. I do think the big thing we have facing us is the taxes. The revaluation is going to hit a lot of people, some more than others. To a certain extent we have to control the growth because of the school situation but I think the planning board is very capable of controlling growth. I have faith in them, too.

How does having someone like you, with experience on the Board of Selectmen, benefit the citizens of Raymond?

Brown: Experience helps no matter what you’re doing. To put somebody on the board who has never been involved at all, they can learn, yes, but it may take them a year or two. That kind of sets things behind, I would say. Since I’ve been on the board, we’ve accomplished an awful lot. Building that public safety building when we did was a big plus for the town. I wish we could have done the Town Hall back when we had the opportunity to buy the land on 51 Main Street but the people voted that down.

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