SANFORD — With the departure of a longtime town councilor, a new face is guaranteed on the Town Council after the Nov. 6 election.

Chairman Alan Walsh and Councilor Richard Wilkins are seeking reelection, while current Vice Chairwoman Anne-Marie Mastraccio is leaving the council after nine years to run for House District 143. A crowded field of candidates is battling for her spot and to unseat the two incumbents.

The top vote getters will be elected to the three seats. In addition to electing three councilors for three-year terms, voters will be asked to approve a new charter that would change Sanford from a town to a city, eliminate the annual Town Meeting and allow residents to vote annually on the municipal and school budget.

Walsh, 50, a three-term councilor, said he wants to continue his time on the council to promote economic development. That and the town’s tax rate are the two biggest concerns for taxpayers, he said. Walsh said he has fought to reduce spending, but recognized the importance of allocating an additional $1 million this year for road repairs.

“Our infrastructure is in dire straits. We actually had a developer interested in investing here but, because of the road conditions, chose another community,” he said.

Wilkins, a former Sanford Public Works director who was elected to the council in 2009, did not return phone calls and emails requesting information.

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Steven Bruno, 62, said the budget and town spending is his focus as he seeks his first elected position. Currently unemployed, he previously worked in mills and owned a billiards hall. Bruno feels more oversight of the budget is needed to control spending, better anticipate needs and avoid tax increases like the 10 percent hike residents saw this year.

“There seems to be no limit on the spending this town does,” he said. “I want to see, with clarity, the budgets given to each department, whether it be the town garage or school department. More oversight will make sure the money is spent wisely.”

Bruno said he thinks the town can do more to be a business-friendly community and should be “welcoming with open arms any business that would come here and give people jobs.”

David Mongeau, 41, who runs a restaurant in town and serves on the Planning Board, said Sanford needs to position itself to compete for business. The town should do an inventory of parking spaces downtown, make access roads to businesses and reduce the number of contract zones to help attract new businesses, he said.

“We just saw taxes go up in town. The reason that is happening is because there’s not enough commercial development. You have a lot of empty spaces not generating taxes,” he said.

Mongeau said the town should capitalize on its position as a service center and grow around Goodall Hospital and the airport, which give Sanford a competitive advantage over other communities.

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Matthew Treadwell, 31, a Planning Board member who works for a Portland nonprofit, said he would like to serve on the council to help strengthen the town’s future.

“I want to make Sanford an option for my kids when they grow up. I don’t want them to feel they have to move to have any type of future,” he said.

Treadwell said the town needs to focus on revitalizing downtown to make it more pedestrian-friendly and attract new businesses. Sanford also needs to find a way to invest more money in repairing roads and sidewalks, he said. “No one is going to want to invest in the town of Sanford if the town doesn’t want to invest in itself,” he said.

Like Treadwell, Fred Smith, a 49-year-old father of five, said he is running “to stand up and speak out for what we want our kids’ future to be.” If elected, he said he will look for ways to save taxpayers money.

“We’re going to put seniors out of their homes” with 10 percent tax increases, he said. “We’re going to make it impossible for young people to buy a home.”

Smith also would like to extend a natural gas pipeline to the center of Sanford, encourage more personal responsibility and look at issues connected with the number of people in Sanford who rely on public assistance.

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Everard “Lenny” Horr, 40, is making his second run for Town Council to “bring about a positive change in Sanford” and encourage a new attitude at Town Hall. He said there seems to be some mistrust of the Town Council among residents, and he wants to involve more people in town government.

“We need some new people and new ideas in Town Hall. We’ve had the same people for many, many years. It’s time for some new ideas,” he said.

Victor E. DiGregorio, a longtime Town Meeting and Finance Committee member, said he wants to be a catalyst to encourage people in Sanford to better communicate and share ideas about how to improve the town.

“We’re not communicating, we’re not sharing,” he said. “The council is always split. I want to see more consensus on the council.”

DiGregorio also has concerns about municipal spending. The council’s focus should be on spending money on the town’s needs, while also looking for ways to provide a teen center and fix roads and avoid large increases, he said.

Council candidates are split on the proposed charter, which was developed over the past 18 months by the Charter Commission.

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As Town Council chairman, Walsh urged residents to read through the proposed changes to make up their own minds. Bruno said he is leaning toward voting against the charter, although he thinks calling Sanford a city would entice new businesses. Smith said he has not decided how he will vote, but likes that the charter requires an annual town-wide referendum on the municipal and school budgets.

DiGregorio is concerned that the proposed charter gives the Town Council too much control in the budget process. Horr said he supports the charter because it could bring positive change and requires more spending on capital improvement projects.

Treadwell said he is fully in favor of the proposed charter changes, which he feels streamlines government and helps battle the perception that Sanford is smaller than it is.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:

ggraham@mainetoday.com

Twitter: grahamgillian

 


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