{"id":2514,"date":"2026-05-22T00:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/stephen-plympton\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T16:10:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:10:24","slug":"stephen-plympton","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/stephen-plympton\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen D. Plympton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">About the Candidate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public servant for over 30 years, looking to continue to serve in a different way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">High school, with multiple certifications related to fire and EMS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Previous campaigns and elected office(s) held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the first time I&#8217;ve run for public office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Top three priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pursuing the hiring of a town manager, encouraging responsible commercial growth, and increasing transparency and honesty in town affairs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a retired fire lieutenant and paramedic, I still have the desire to serve my community, and I feel this is the best way that I can do that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">What is the biggest challenge facing your community? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest challenge for Buxton is how to control the inevitable growth and development as a suburb of Portland. Driving the change rather than reacting to it is the most important factor. I would say the biggest opportunity is exactly the same answer. Being proactive rather than reactive to growth is very exciting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">If you could change one thing about how your community functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Referring back to one of my top priorities as far as the hiring of a town manager, I feel this particular change is one of the biggest but also one of the most vital for the successful future of this town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Do you support more development in your community? Why or why not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I absolutely do! Specifically, I feel we need to attract more commercial development, but we need to do it in a controlled way so the town maintains its character and homeowners aren&#8217;t burdened as the sole source of tax revenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2757,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Stephen","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Plympton","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":2498,"voter_guide_candidate_age":49,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Retired fire lieutenant\/paramedic","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"","voter_guide_candidate_education":"","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_state":0,"voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":0,"voter_guide_candidate_time_in_area":"31 years total","voter_guide_candidate_website":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=16WZmma1eceuHqwnXHbIieBUxIou7oaml","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","voter_guide_candidate_incumbent_years":"","voter_guide_candidate_is_clean_elections":false,"footnotes":""},"vg_party":[564],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-2514","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-republican"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3243,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2514\/revisions\/3243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}