Candidate understands
compromise, consensus
Karen Plattes’ experience and skills will be invaluable to the Kennebunk Select Board. I endorse her enthusiastically and ask you to support her, too. Here’s why:
Karen’s energy and straightforward approach will add to the board’s effectiveness. With her direct, attentive style and positive outlook, she will listen to Kennebunk residents and make sure their voices are heard.
Her long experience at the helm of nonprofits means she understands that compromise and consensus are fundamental to achieving workable results. She has the ability to parse and navigate complicated, interrelated issues with respect and diligence.
Vote for Karen Plattes, candidate for Kennebunk Select Board. She deserves your support.
Jane Card
Kennebunk
Candidate does
her homework
We write in support of Karen Plattes, candidate for the Kennebunk Select Board. We’ve gotten to know and respect her during our years serving together on the coordinating committee of a local social justice group – Many Towns/One Circle.
Effective representative government is a must for Kennebunk. Karen will work hard
to make that happen. Here’s how:
• She’s an excellent listener and also has the temperament to let others speak;
• When she speaks, she expresses herself based on facts, not from a partisan position;
• She does her homework. The portfolio for every board meeting is extensive. You can be assured that Karen will both read the material thoroughly and do her own research;
• Often described as a pleasant, quiet leader, she can also be forceful when she speaks to challenge, for example, statements which aren’t fact-based;
• Some leaders are described as having a “moral compass.” As we’ve worked with Karen, we’ve been impressed with this aspect of her personality. She’s running for the Select Board because she sincerely cares about Kennebunk and all its citizens;
• Her agenda will be what she hears from us, her constituents, not from partisan groups.
If we’ve made our case above, we urge you to vote for Karen Plattes, Kennebunk
Select Board.
Bob and Joan Wuerthner
Kennebunk
Board needs
new ideas
Harvey Flashen’s letter to the editor in last week’s Kennebunk Post about the challenges of climate change caught my attention. Yes, higher tax dollars for repair and maintenance of our infrastructure are a likelihood, but what about the homeowner or business who can no longer get property insurance when insurance companies deny coverage because of climate risk.
This is one of the main reasons I am endorsing Fred Stafford for the Kennebunkport Select Board. We need new ideas and thoughtful consideration as we face issues around climate change, housing, infrastructure challenges, business development, strengthening town services and regional strategies for governmental efficiencies.
Fred brings four decades of business experience to town leadership having worked for companies such as Ford and GM. He knows how to listen and be proactive. He has worked both in labor and management to negotiate contracts, identify problems, and resolve issues.
Since his childhood, Fred has been a part of our community. In 2020, he and his wife, Charlene, moved here permanently, and he has become a contributing member to key town committees on technology and the environment.
Having gotten to know Fred, I know he will work hard to ensure a sustainable future for our town through listening, questioning and thoughtful problem-solving. I hope you will join me in voting for Fred on June 11.
Tom McClain
Kennebunkport
Schools need
operational expert
Regarding RSU 21’s budget, it seems obvious a full-time communications director position (at $80,000 per year plus benefits) is not for the support of students or the community. At best, it feels like the district attempting to get better at crafting artificial messaging, instead of responding to the actual need of simple and direct transparency with the taxpayers who are footing the bills. At worst, a thin excuse for the administrators to have the protection of full-time PR representation, effectively on retainer for the next time the district steps into controversy (as it more frequently seems to be doing in recent years).
Surely our existing well-paid administration staff was hired at least in part for their own communications skills, and should be more than adequate to handle “getting out important messages” to such a small community. As for the “attracting and retaining students” leadership claims it needs this position for – did I miss when we became a private, for-profit school district? We sure like to spend like we are, but RSU 21 should not be in competition for students, just to effectively serve the students it is legally obligated to educate.
Instead of adding another layer between our administrators and accountability, these funds might be better spent hiring an operational efficiency expert to look at our district from the very top on down, and present its findings directly to the community. Perhaps then we can give more informed opinions about how the district can reduce its ever increasing burden on the finances of our citizens, while still making sure we give our kids the quality education they deserve.
Adam Perkins
Kennebunk
Candidate is
fierce advocate
I’m writing to give my full-hearted support to Kirstan Watson for the open Arundel seat on the RSU 21 School Board. I have known Kirstan for almost 20 years, and she is intelligent, hard-working, a really good listener, and a fierce advocate for her local community. She owns a small property management and cleaning company with her husband, which she has built over the last 24 years into a successful business due to her grit, great interpersonal skills, and no shortage of good humor.
When I asked Kirstan what her motivation was for wanting to represent her community on the school board, she reminded me of her challenging childhood growing up in Arundel. The adversity she faced as a child stood in the way of her learning and development at times. However, her cumulative experiences in the RSU 21 schools – first ML Day, then Sea Road, on to Middle School of the Kennebunks, and finally, Kennebunk High School, with their supportive communities of teachers, administrators, and fellow students – made all the difference.
“The school system saved my life, I feel called to repay the tremendous debt of gratitude I feel,” she told me.
Kirstan Watson’s mission on the school board, if she is elected, will be to work hard to continue the legacy of supporting quality teachers and great administrators, and providing the compassionate, quality learning environment for today’s young learners that helped her thrive as a child. I know she will do that.
Henry Ingwersen
Arundel
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