It’s rare in any municipality to have the option of electing a viable third-party candidate. In Brunswick, two candidates on the Nov. 6 ballot present that possibility.

But voting for someone merely because they are not a party — so to speak — to all the gridlock and mudslinging in our legislatures doesn’t solve anything. A third-party candidate must also be a sane thinker with fresh ideas and experience if he or she is to change our bitter politics.

It’s an idea Mainers fully embrace. We seem poised to send our neighbor, former Gov. Angus King, to the U.S. Senate — not because he is unaligned, but because he represents a free-thinking politician not caught in the lock-step grind of partisanship. The fact that more Maine voters are unenrolled than belong to either major party further bolsters this view of Maine’s independent-minded electorate.

We believe Fred Horch fills the bill for Brunswick: a free-thinking, environmentally minded independent with legal training and small-business experience.

In 2010, in a three-way race against an incumbent Democrat and a Republican, he came only 200 votes short of election. With the candidates in this race chosen by caucus after defections, this open seat is well within his reach.

We encourage you to vote for him.

The Democrat, Matthea Daughtry, is an excellent candidate — one not disqualified by age, gender or experience, as some have tried to suggest. She’s known around the State House as a foil of the LePage administration and brings energy and thoughtfulness to the debate.

Republican Grant Connors has an uphill battle in a left-leaning district, but has shown a commendable flexibility not usually shared in his caucus.

What intrigues us about Horch is his mix of small-business experience, international perspectives and environmental concern.

If Maine is to prosper, it needs to protect its world-class resources even as it exploits them responsibly. Only in Maine is this mix of business growth and environmental protection so inextricably linked. We believe Horch’s resume reflects that balance.

Hotch operated a retail store on Maine Street, has three kids in Brunswick public schools and has served on communityfocused boards. He’s lived in Utah, France, the Soviet Union and Japan, offering the State House a worldview it often lacks. His academic credentials are solid, if not worldclass — political science at Swarthmore College and law at the University of California- Berkeley.

Whether he can bridge partisan divides remains to be seen (we’re not at all sure King will have that success in the Senate, either). But if he brings the full array of his skills, education, youth and experience to the State House, we are certain Brunswick — and Maine — will benefit.