SACO — Tricia Huot will be the new Saco Ward 6 city councilor. The City Council chose Huot on Jan. 8 to fill the seat vacated by Mayor Jodi MacPhail when MacPhail was elected mayor in November. Huot will fill out the remainder of MacPhail’s term, which ends in December.
Huot has lived in Saco for over two decades and raised three boys in the community. She brings a diverse professional background to the role, having worked as a research scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, in customer service at L.L. Bean, and as an ed tech in the Saco school system. She is an associate broker with Coldwell Banker Realty in Saco.
She opened her remarks by calling Saco “extraordinary.” She pointed to Age Friendly Saco, a group that aims to keep the city livable for residents as they age, as one example of the city’s committment to “enhancing the lives of our citizens.”
The other candidate vying for the role was Steven Boucouvalas, the city’s former public safety emergency communications specialist and city emergency management director. He was also previously a Saco EMT. Today, Boucavalas works for the Maine Center for Disease Control.
He said he has a deep love for the city and readiness to serve in public office.
Steven Boucavalas ran against Jodi MacPhail for the Ward 6 seat in 2019 and lost that election by fewer than 50 votes.
At the Jan. 8 meeting, Huot and Boucouvalas presented before the council and then fielded a question from each city councilor.
Huot said her governance approach would be grounded in research — drawing on her experience as a research scientist with the pharmaceutical company Sanofi and a manager at Merck Pharmaceuticals — open communication, and “active listening,” a skill she sharpened while working in education. She said moving the Saco school construction project forward as one of her priorities.
During his remarks, Boucavalas said he is concerned by rising rates of homelessness and wants to see more young people remain in the community. If selected for City Council, he said he would contribute to the city’s effort to mitigate erosion at Camp Ellis. He also said he’s concerned about the Lincoln Village development, a proposed 332-unit development that failed before the Planning Board, but is currently being appealed by the applicant in court.
Councilor Phil Hatch asked perhaps the toughest question of the evening, prompting candidates to talk about a specific proposal or proposals for dealing with the various land use issues that Saco is currently confronting. Hatch included issues related to homelessness, the need for affordable housing, the need for commercial development, and pressure on infrastructure — particularly as it relates to pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Huot said she would like to see the city offer a tax incentive to developers who build in Saco and designate some of the units as affordable.
Boucavalas spoke about his ability to work with other agencies. He said population growth poses a challenge for Saco, and a bolstered police force would be able to better regulate speeding and other traffic infractions.
In a roll call vote to select Tricia Huot, Councilors Marshall Archer, Joe Gunn, Mike Burman and Phil Hatch voted yes. Councilors Joshua Parks and Nathan Johnston voted no.
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