June 14 Scarborough Special Election/Courtesy Photo
SCARBOROUGH — The June 14 election is right around the corner and there are numerous items on the local ballot.
The June 14 election includes a primary election for the State of Maine. Voters will decide each party’s nomination of candidates for federal, state and county offices, and the candidates elected at the primary election will qualify to appear on the November election ballot. Contested elections include the Democratic nominee for State House District 126 between Jean-Marie Caterina and Andrew “Drew” Gattine and the Democratic nominee for Cumberland County District Attorney between incumbent Jonathan Sahrbeck Kennebec County Assistant District Attorney Jackie Sartoris.
The election includes the Town School Budget Validation Referendum. While the municipal budget was approved by the Town Council, the school budget requires voters to approve a referendum question. The council approved a school budget of $51.9 million.
A Special Municipal Election to fill the vacant seat on the Scarborough Town Council will be on the June 14 ballot as well. The vacancy on the Town Council was created by the resignation of Paul Johnson, with a term to expire in 2024. The three candidates running for the vacant council seat are Peter Freilinger, Nicholas McGee, and Martin Topol.
Peter Freilinger is a consultant and entrepreneur. He grew up in Cape Elizabeth and after graduating from Harvard, he spent 25 years building a career in finance and banking.
“The part of why I am running is because my son is in the fourth grade at Wentworth, I think it is important to show our kids what it means to be involved in our communities and it is important to do things as simple as raising your hand and offering to serve the community in whatever capacity you can,” said Freilinger.
Nicholas McGee is a Maine native and a small business owner of Summit Property Management. He spent eight years working on the Planning Board and said he understands the need of Scarborough and the community.
“Take that knowledge and experience and use it to benefit how we operate not just with people who have to interact with our government but also bring that vision for what this looks like for us for our kids 30 years down the road,” said McGee.
Martin “Marty” Topol is a lawyer at Verrill Dana who moved to Scarborough from Boston 18 months ago.
“I am running for Town Council not because I think I have all of the answers but because I have the traits that I would like to see in my town councilors fairness, open-mindedness, a willingness to study the issues, a willingness to listen to my neighbors about their concerns and if it helps, I am smart and hard-working,” said Topol.
Early voting by absentee ballot for the election started on Monday, May 16, at the Town Hall which is located at 259 U.S. Route 1.
The election is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 14, at the Scarborough High School in the Alumni Gym, located at 11 Municipal Drive, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact the Town Clerks Office at 207-730-4020.
Sample town ballots and sample school budget validation ballots can be found on the town website at https://www.scarboroughmaine.org/departments/town-clerk/elections/
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