BRUNSWICK
Brunswick residents will be able to meet and mingle with the two town manager candidates, followed by a televised Q&A session over local cable access, starting this coming week.
James Bennett, Presque Isle’s city manager since 2010, will be on hand Thursday. John Eldridge, Brunswick’s finance director and interim town manager, will be on hand Monday, Sept. 8.
Both events take place at the Town Hall council chambers, starting at 6 p.m.
Town Council Chairman Benet Pols, in his blog, described the informal portion of the evenings as an “open house” in which “Townspeople will have an opportunity to meet and chat with the candidates.”
At 7:15 p.m. on both nights, the ques- tion and answer session will be moderated by David Barrett of the Maine Municipal Association, who has been hired by the town as a consultant during the search process.
The one-hour Q&A session will be televised on TV- 3, wrote Pols, and will allow citizens to “ask direct questions in a more formal setting.”
Priority will be given to questions submitted by those in attendance. Those unable to attend can submit questions via email to [email protected].
“We invite Brunswick residents and taxpayers, representatives of neighborhood groups, civic and cultural organizations, the business community, and other institutional citizens to join us. We hope your input informs the process and makes the evening more meaningful,” wrote Pols. “More important we hope for your feedback. In the end, the town manager must have the confidence of the townspeople not just its elected officials.”
Prior to his tenure in Presque Isle, Bennett served in city administrator positions in Lewiston and Westbrook, and in town manager positions in Old Orchard Beach, New Gloucester and Dixfield.
Eldridge has been interim town manager since February, and has worked as the town’s finance director since 1988. Previously, he had worked in town manager positions in Bradley and South Berwick.
jswinconeck@timesrecord.com
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