LEVENE
Phippsburg resident Sue Levene is running for the seat on the Phippsburg Board of Selectmen being vacated by former longtime Selectman Everett Perkins.
Levene will be running against Chris Mixon, who has chaired the Phippsburg’s Town Landings Committee and owns Meadowbrook Campground.
The election takes place May 1 at Phippsburg Town Hall.
Perkins recently announced he is not running for re-election.
Levene, a 10-year Phippsburg resident, said that she is running to continue the work Perkins started.
“I want to step up as someone who believes in the same things he does: straight-forward talk and finding solutions,” said Levene. “This is a diverse community, from fishermen to retirees to summer residents. I want to find out what they all need and find out solutions that work for them without raising our taxes too badly.”
Levene said one of the first things she noticed when she moved to Phippsburg from Stamford, Connecticut was the way its residents “are willing to put in elbow grease in order to not pay too much in taxes.”
“That’s what I find fascinating about this place,” Levene said. “People are always willing to lend a hand rather than spend money.”
That mindset, Levene said, is what brought her to the idea of being selectman.
“I felt so welcomed in this town when I moved here, and to give back is important to me,” she said.
As selectman, Levene said she would tackle the problem of summer traffic at Popham Beach.
“There’s a lot of visitors who come to Popham, and in the past few years getting them through the gate to pay their entrance fee has caused a lot of back-up,” Levene said, adding that the road to the beach cannot be widened. “So our police department goes down there to make sure it’s safe and the traffic is flowing, and its actually been a big drain on our finances.”
Levene said visitors to Popham are a good thing for both the town and state, and said she hopes to come up with some revenue sharing and reimbursement solutions on the state level to help cut down on town expenses.
“Having all of these visitors to Popham is a good problem to have,” Levene said. “My plan is to get a team together and go up to the State House and talk to who we need to talk to.”
Levine said she is also concerned that those struggling financially in town don’t “fall through the cracks.” Levene said there are many families that only have seasonal work — such as lobstermen — who need help getting through the winters.
“There are a lot of people who are financially insecure,” said Levene. “They don’t like to take services, but I want to start thinking about ways to help them.”
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