Residents in Scarborough will vote in a Democratic primary for a legislative seat, fill a vacancy on the Town Council and weigh in on the proposed school budget on Election Day, Tuesday, June 14.
South Portland and Cape Elizabeth will also hold school budget validation votes June 14.
SCARBOROUGH
Jean-Marie Caterina of Scarborough and Drew Gattine of Westbrook are seeking the Democratic nomination for House District 126. The winner will face Republican Leslie Smith of Saco on Nov. 8. The district covers northern Saco, northwest Scarborough and part of Westbrook.
Candidates Peter Freilinger, Nicholas McGee and Marty Topol are vying for an open Town Council seat in Scarborough. The position was left vacant when Paul Johnson resigned in March.
All three candidates are concerned about giving a building cap exemption to the developers of The Downs downtown project. While the pace of growth in town is also of concern, finance professional Freilinger, small business owner and property manager McGee and lawyer Topol say they bring different experiences and perspectives to the table.
Scarborough voters will also vote on the town’s $51.9 million school budget, a $2.2 million increase from this year.
Drivers of the increase include the creation of four new positions and an uptick in health insurance, energy and fuel costs. Roughly 80% of the total budget is allocated for personnel costs.
Voting will take place at the Scarborough High School gym from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, go to scarboroughmaine.org and navigate to the “Elections” page.
SOUTH PORTLAND
South Portland voters will weigh in on the School Department’s planned budget of $59.7 million, a $4.6 million increase over this year’s.
About $47.8 million of the school budget will be raised via taxes. Much of the increase is in response to a rapid increase in enrollment in the district. Between October 2021 and April 2022, over 210 students enrolled in South Portland schools. Many of the new students are multilingual learners who now represent roughly one-fifth of the city’s student body, according to superintendent Tim Matheney.
The budget creates new English learning and special education teaching positions as well as a liaison for housing-vulnerable students. South Portland currently serves about 20% of Maine’s housing-vulnerable students, according to Matheney, while South Portland teaches just 1.6% of students statewide.
The polls in South Portland will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Residents of District 1 will vote at the Boys and Girls Club at 169 Broadway, and residents of District 2 will vote at the American Legion Post 35 at 413 Broadway. Those residing in Districts 3 and 4 will vote at the Community Center at 21 Nelson Road, and District 5 residents will vote at the Redbank Community Center at Macarthur Circle West.
For more information, including district information, visit southportland.org and navigate to the “Polling Locations” page.
CAPE ELIZABETH
Cape Elizabeth voters will decide whether to approve a $31.3 million budget, which is up $1.3 million, or 4.7%, from this year, and was authorized by the Town Council by a vote of 5-2 last month.
Drivers of the budget increase include new positions, such as a second band teacher and a math instructional strategist, an increase in oil and fuel costs, and capital projects ranging from ventilation repairs at the high school to masonry repairs at the Pond Cove and Middle School building.
Residents can vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 14 at the Cape Elizabeth High School gym.
For more information, visit capeelizabeth.com and go to the “Elections & Voting” page.
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