SACO — This year’s mayoral race has a former legislator and mayor running against a former city councilor and current county commissioner.

Current Mayor Ron Michaud will not be running for reelection. The two candidates seeking his seat are, in alphabetical order, Marston Lovell and Don Pilon.

Lovell, 71, is the owner and operator of Manufacturers Analytics. He also served nearly 18 years as an officer with the Army Reserves.

“This is an exciting and pivotal time for Saco,” said Lovell. “I believe I can be an effective advocate for Saco locally, regionally, and statewide in order to facilitate the city’s progress.”

Lovell said his six years on the council and nearly three years as a county commissioner, as well as service with the Maine Municipal Association, has helped him gain an understanding of local government. He also has made many contacts on the local government level in neighboring communities.

“Though there is always more to be learned, I believe the instruction, reading materials, and the matters that have been dealt with by the Commission during my time as a commissioner have provided me an understanding of how city and county government can work together to improve the efficient use of Saco’s property tax dollars,” he said.

Lovell said the city’s mayor must be accessible to residents, be a strategic thinker and planner, and accept criticism and responsibility for failure.

Lovell said the economy is doing better, and if elected he would work to get more businesses and industry in Saco, which would bring in more tax revenue so the city can continue its success in providing services to the community.

Lovell said as bigger box stores suffer in what he calls the “Amazon world,” boutique shops are thriving. He said he’d like to see shops that sell unique and specialty products in the city’s downtown, and would like to see a shop stocked with items form local farmers and crafters.

Lovell said his experience and education, including team development training he had while in the army, will help build on team efforts in the city’s staff and boards, making the city stronger.

Lovell said his experience working with the Army Corps while in the Army will be helpful in working with the Corps to develop a plan to mitigate beach erosion. He said he does not think the city should sue the Army Corps, because the federal government has access to many lawyers, and it would be a long and expensive ordeal for the city. He said he has an understanding of the Army Corps system and can help the city go through the correct channels.

Pilon, 66, is a real estate broker with The Maine Real Estate Network. He served eight years as a state representative and two years as Mayor of Saco.

“I enjoy serving, that’s what I like to do,” said Pilon. Also, he said, he wants to continue the projects he was involved in when he served as mayor from 2013 to 2015. This includes the expansion of natural gas, and he’d like to see service extend to Beach Street and Ferry Road.

Pilon would like to see the city, as it works to find a solution to beach erosion, not sue the Army Corps but hire a lobbyist to work with the corps.

“That’s money better spent than creating an adversarial relationship with the corps,” he said.

Pilon said he’s qualified to be mayor because of his experience as mayor and as a legislator. As a mayor, he worked with the city administrator to build a city budget, and served as an ex officio member on the school board, and observed the process of creating a school budget. He said due to his experience as a legislator, he has contacts with federal law makers.

If elected, he said he would work to get the city more revenue sharing from the state, using his experience as a state representative to work with state legislators.

Pilon said he would like to see Unit 91 developed. His ideas for the space include an artisan’s collaborative that has galleries and offers classes, a high end antique dealer or auction house, or a culinary school that’s associated with local colleges and had a restaurant.

Pilon said he would like to see the Saco Island substation, which right now looks like an “erector set on top of the hill” made more attractive, and he’d like to see electrical lines in the area buried.

Pilon said if he is elected mayor, he would address traffic in the downtown. He would like to see signs along U.S. Route 1 directing people to Elm Street as a “Main Street bypass.” He would also use his connections from serving on the Maine Passenger Rail Advisory Council to work on a solution, such as extending the train station platform, to prevent passenger train stops from blocking traffic.

 — Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].