NAPLES — Voters this summer will elect two of five candidates for open seats on the Selectboard.

Incumbents James Grattelo and Kevin Rogers face Robert Nyberg, Richard Robinson and Theodore Shane in the race for the two three-year terms. The election is July 14.

Marie Kushner withdrew from the race on Monday.

“COVID-19 has destroyed my platform, all the things I wanted to do for the community,” the owner of Marie’s Kitchen told the Lakes Region Weekly this week, adding that now is not the time to “change the guard.”

In what would be Grattelo’s second term, he said he hopes to “continue to be a strong voice for the people.”

He believes the biggest challenge the town faces is the fast pace of development.

“We need to continue to revise our ordinances and zoning laws to manage that growth and protect the rural character of the town of Naples,” he said.

As a selectman, Grattelo has worked on updating ordinances and zoning laws to ensure they align with the town’s comprehensive plan.

He said he’s “consistent and fair and treats everybody the same. I don’t favor citizens over businesses or businesses over citizens” and in doing so, will “continue to be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money.”

Nyberg is running for his first Selectboard term, but has served on several other town committees.

He believes that one of the biggest challenges facing the town right now is the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our challenge is to get everything open and get things running again,” he said. “With COVID it’s dangerous … but to survive, you need businesses.”

To tackle this challenge, Nyberg said that the town needs to expand its focus to businesses beyond the Causeway and “make sure all of our businesses and all of our citizens get the attention for what they need.”

He said it’s “corny,” but his question to the community is “how can I be of service?”

“I’m the person who’s walked into the Selectboard meeting and asked what I can do to help,” he said.

Among his accomplishments, he counts starting the summer farmers market in 2018.

Nyberg said people should vote for him because he “doesn’t have any special interests” and that his only interest is to be of service to the community because he wants “to see the town get better.”

Rogers said his family has been in Naples for about 200 years and that “leaves me with a moral dedication to try to help any way I can.” He said that one of the biggest challenges facing the town is trying to grow the town’s businesses and residential development while still maintaining its rural character. He hopes to tackle this by inviting local businesses to the discussion on how to do this, strengthen zoning and hiring a town planner.

In what would be Rogers’ third term on the Selectboard, he said he hopes to continue in the positive direction that Naples is heading.

Shane has been a Public Works director for 22 years and said he wants to apply his knowledge from that experience to the Selectboard, where he hopes to tackle budgetary and zoning issues. When asked how he plans to tackle those issues, he said with a “straightforward approach with a full board reviewing the situations.”

Shane is a lifelong resident of Naples and said he is going into this election with an open mind and without any personal agenda.

“I want to see the town succeed,” he said, and he has the “local taxpayers in mind.”

Robinson could not be reached over the course of two weeks for interviews.

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