Andrews

Cape Elizabeth voters will have six candidates to select from to fill three Town Council seats on Nov. 5.

David Andrews, David Hughes, Tim Reiniger, Jonathan Sahrbeck, Elizabeth Scifres and Andrew Swayze are vying for the three open seats. Reiniger, the current chair of the council, is the sole incumbent running with Councilors Jeremy Gabrielson and Susan Gillis not running for reelection.

Swayze did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

Hughes

Housing is something most candidates identified as a challenge for Cape Elizabeth in the years ahead.

“Cape Elizabeth is facing aggressive pressure from the outside special interests to develop dense apartment complexes, putting our neighborhoods, ballparks, town center, farms and even Fort Williams at risk,” Andrews said. “I will stand up against the outside pressure and fight to protect Cape’s rural character.”

Reiniger

Hughes said maintaining the rural character is important, but the town still needs to remain accessible.

“I’m committed to finding innovative housing solutions that provide more opportunity without compromising Cape’s unique charm,” Hughes said. “There are many ways to make Cape more accessible without succumbing to pressures to build large apartment complexes – an option Cape voters simply oppose.”

Reiniger also said the town needs to be resistant to external pressure, citing his support of minimal changes to town ordinances in the face of state-mandated zoning changes last year.

Sahrbeck

“The historical rural farm character and small village feel have been coming under heavy development pressure and expectations from outside groups, regional planners and recent transplants,” Reiniger said. “The Town Council needs to have the courage, experience and know-how to advance fiscally compassionate policies and resist development pressures.”

Sahrbeck said the town needs to examine its zoning ordinances and provide more options for seniors to downsize, freeing up housing for others and bringing down market prices.

“We need to examine our current housing stock and zoning laws and see where we can make improvements to help alleviate these issues while also protecting our rural character,” Sahrbeck said. “We need to examine possible zoning changes that could lead to more smart development that would allow our older residents to downsize while also staying in town.”

Scifres

Scifres recognized the town’s low housing stock but stated “fear, frustration, misinformation and uncertainty” are among the town’s greatest challenges.

“There are well-funded misinformation campaigns regarding the school bond, a Town Council that discusses items not on the agenda and does not always follow process when making major policy decisions,” Scifres said. “If elected, I will work hard to improve transparency and public process, work to find common ground on issues, be solution oriented, listen and communicate with the public, and above all, act with civility and respect.”

Scifres said the town needs to review and update its goals, analyze its committees, and more.

“I would like to have an audit of the town’s committees, review how they work and give recommendations to the town,” she said. “I would like to expand property tax relief and investigate bringing more varieties of housing to town.”

Swayze

Many of the other candidates identified the contentious $94.7 million school project and property tax increases as challenges.

Sahrbeck said those go hand in hand.

“We need to pass the school bond because it is an investment in our community and our kids, despite that it will result in a property tax increase,” he said. “Due to that, we need to explore options for senior tax relief and property tax relief for members of our community who will be most affected by a property tax increase.”

The town should explore other methods to bring in revenue as well, Sahrbeck said, taking some of the burden off homeowners.

Reiniger said he opposes the school proposal and, to thwart a large tax increase, the town needs to address the most critical needs instead.

“I am opposed to building a large new school in a time of high inflation and level student enrollment,” Reiniger said. “Instead, the top priority needs to be restoring Cape’s state educational rankings. In addition, I believe that the town needs to address deferred maintenance, identified building safety deficiencies and teacher needs, and not new schools.”

Hughes said surveys by the School Building Advisory Committee have determined that the tax increase that comes with the school project is higher than most residents have an appetite for.

“Should (it fail), we need to finally listen to the voters and move forward with a cost-effective approach that starts with a budget our community can afford,” Hughes said. “That means taking a pragmatic approach, investing in our schools in phases to rebuild and improve infrastructure while minimizing property tax increases.”

Andrews, as a citizen member of the advisory committee, opposes the project on the ballot.

“Cape has a large percentage of residents, including seniors and young families, who are struggling – many living paycheck to paycheck,” Andrews said. “I will advocate for them by opposing excessive spending like the currently proposed school bond – in favor of more affordable, long-lasting capital improvements and renovations.”

For information on voting in Cape Elizabeth, go to capeelizabeth.com/electionsvoting.