{"id":2564,"date":"2026-05-22T00:01:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/andrew-e-welch\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T13:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:35:12","slug":"andrew-e-welch","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/andrew-e-welch\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew E. Welch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About the Candidate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Lifelong Kennebunkport resident, Army veteran and former fire captain. Married 20 years with a daughter in college. I bring deep local roots and a career dedicated to community service and safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Trade school graduate with an associate’s degree in business focused on project management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Previous campaigns and elected office(s) held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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None<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Top three priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My top three priorities are ensuring fiscal responsibility through transparent budgeting, advocating for long-time residents and local businesses, and preserving our community traditions while revitalizing local events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I am running to continue my lifelong service to Kennebunkport. As a local, a veteran and a former fire captain, I\u2019ve seen our community from many angles. I believe longtime residents and local businesses have been overlooked recently. I want to bring fiscal responsibility and transparency to our town government while ensuring that, as we grow, we protect the traditions and heritage that make this town home for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What is the biggest challenge facing your community? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The biggest challenge is ensuring that responsible growth doesn\u2019t outpace our small-town character. Rising costs risk sidelining the longtime residents and businesses. We must manage development so it is fiscally sustainable and respects our heritage. Our biggest opportunity lies in smart, transparent planning. By supporting responsible development and our local economy, we can welcome the future while protecting the traditions and fiscal stability that make Kennebunkport home for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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If you could change one thing about how your community functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I’d shift how we prioritize town decisions by ensuring we don’t just cater to the squeakiest wheel. Our government must support everyone from our largest stakeholders to our quietest longtime residents and small businesses. We can move past reactionary politics by increasing fiscal transparency and providing clear-language budget reporting; that will ensure that every voice is heard and that growth is managed fairly and responsibly, protecting the traditions that define our town\u2019s unique character.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Do you support more development in your community? Why or why not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Did not respond<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Andrew","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"E","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Welch","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":2562,"voter_guide_candidate_age":45,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Construction project manager","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":"45 years","voter_guide_candidate_website":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","voter_guide_candidate_incumbent_years":"","voter_guide_candidate_is_clean_elections":false,"footnotes":""},"vg_party":[564],"vg_residence_municipality":[482],"class_list":["post-2564","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","hentry","vg_party-republican","vg_residence_municipality-kennebunkport"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2564","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":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3837,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/2564\/revisions\/3837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=2564"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=2564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}