SCARBOROUGH — Running unopposed in the 2020 election for Cumberland County District 1 Commissioner, Neil Jamieson said that he is hoping to take care of “unfinished business” in the next term.

Cumberland County District 1 includes Baldwin, Bridgton, Gorham, Scarborough, Sebago, and Standish.

A resident of Scarborough, Jamieson has offices in Portland and Saco with the law firm Prescott Jamieson Nelson & Murphy, LLC, he said.

Jamieson was involved with the effort to bring a YMCA building into Scarborough, and with daughters who went through the school system, he has also served on the Scarborough Schools soccer committee and Scarborough High School Lacrosse Boosters, he said.

In 2008, Jamieson was elected to the Cumberland County Charter Committee, he said. He has also served as chair of the Young Lawyers and Family Law Sections of the Maine State Bar Association.

“I’ve done a lot of civic work over the years,” he said. “The work in Cumberland County has been wonderful because it gives the the opportunity to give back and work at the same time … I’ve always been involved civically in my communities and believe the only way to do that is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.”

Through a county committee, Jamieson said, Scarborough was able to receive $250,000 of infrastructure for the Affordable Housing Project.

He  said  he enjoys the way the five Cumberland County commissioners work together.

The budget will be one of the “key issues” that Maine municipalities will face through the COVID-19 pandemic, said.

No matter where one is in Cumberland County or Maine, the budget process is going to be difficult, Jamieson said.

“It’s going to be a challenging budget for any entity, whether Portland or the town of Scarborough or the county,” he said. “Tax revenues still will be down and who knows what this economy will end up as.”

Municipalities will need to be collaborative in order to provide for the community, he said. That’s what government is all about, he added, trying to work and listen to the public.

“It’s gotta be budget in this pandemic,” Jamieson said. “You need to throw out the book for the former budget and still try to provide essential services.”

Another goal Jamieson said he is working on with other commissioners is bringing more communication to Maine’s rural ares.

“The 911 access is very limited and so that’s one of our goals,” he said.

Even though county government is sometimes the “unknown fifth wheel of government,” the work that he and the other commissioners have been doing has been successful and helpful, Jamieson said.

“I enjoy county government,” he said. “I think it’s a good opportunity to give back to my county. I think I’ll do something in public service when these four years are done. I hope in some ways I think I’ve benefited the county and the way we run it. It’s a challenging time in government for everybody.”

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