LAKES REGION – Voters in the Lakes Region face a bevy of Election Day issues at the polls on Tuesday, June 12.

All voters in the area will choose among the many Democrat and Republican candidates vying to represent their party in the November election for U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe’s seat.

The Democrat primary race features Jon Hinck, Cynthia Dill, Matt Dunlap and Ben Pollard. Republican voters will decide among Rick Bennett, William Schneider, Bruce Poliquin and Scott D’Amboise, Debra Plowman, Charlie Summers, Patrick Calder and Jonathan Courtney.

Windham, which no longer holds local elected office races in June, will hold a budget validation referendum for the school budget. (See story on page 1.)

Raymond

In Raymond, Joe Bruno is seeking re-election to the Board of Selectmen, on which he has served since 2005. He faces no challengers.

Longtime Raymond residents Dana Desjardins and Denis Morse will face off for an open two-year seat on the Budget/Finance Committee, which has limited authority but acts as a reviewer of the selectmen’s budget. Desjardins has served on the Board of Selectmen and Morse was the town’s fire chief.

There are also three other open seats on the budget committee, each with three-year terms. Peter Dunn, Robert Gosselin and Stephen Linne are running unopposed.

Raymond voters will decide a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 14 board. Amy Bearce and Diana Foisland are vying for the lone seat.

Raymond residents will also be deciding a referendum that would expand the existing barking dog ordinance to include all animals, except for animals used for agricultural purposes. If approved, animals would be restricted to making noise for 10 minutes at a time or intermittent noisemaking for 30 minutes or more. If a neighbor complains, the animal’s owner could face a warning and then fines of $50 for the first offense, $100 for a second offense and $200 for each subsequent offense. The ordinance – which originated with a neighbor dispute on Ledge Hill Road regarding roosters – would be enforced by the animal control officer.

Standish

The lone contested race in Standish features Margaret Spencer running against William Orr for a three-year seat on the Standish Town Council. Spencer has served on the council since her husband Gerald Spencer passed away. Orr is a regular contributor during public comment at council meetings and has been a member of the Standish Budget Committee.

In the other council election, longtime Councilor Philip Pomerleau is running unopposed for a three-year term on the Town Council.

Other than the Orr-Spencer race, Standish has a dearth of candidates for its elected boards, meaning appointees will likely be made by the Town Council.

Diana Allen and Alta Harding are the only candidates for four available seats on the Planning Board.

Katherine Post is the only candidate for six available seats on the Budget Committee.

Todd Delaney is the only candidate for two open seats on the School Administrative District 6 Board of Directors.

While voters won’t have much choice in the races, there are three ballot questions they can answer. One asks voters to approve no more than $170,000 for a public works garage expansion. Question 2 seeks $104,500 from local taxpayers to cover 20 percent of the cost of installing sidewalks on Route 25 in downtown Standish. The state would cover the remainder. Question 3 seeks $486,000 from taxpayers to pay for realignment of the Oak Hill Road/Route 25 intersection.

The total for all three expenditures, including interest, is projected to be $916,000.

Gray

Four are vying for two spots on the Gray Town Council: Matt Sturgis, Lynn Gallagher, Richard Campbell and Margaret Hutchins. The winners would serve three-year terms.

Two candidates, Tina Martell and Caroline Sweeney, are running unopposed for two spots representing Gray on the School Administrative District 15 School Board. Voters will also decide between Joanne Grant and Shad Hall to serve the remainder of a vacated three-year term on the board.

Steven Dunn is running unopposed for an open five-year term on the Gray Water District.

Gray voters will also decide the town budget at the ballot box on Tuesday as well as a charter amendment that would allow the Gray Town Council to directly appoint the town’s economic development director, rather than hiring and firing of that position being done by the town manager. The council already appoints the town manager, town attorney, town’s auditor, tax assessor, and members of the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and other boards and committees.