Vassalboro News: One contested race on June 13 ballot

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro voters have one contested race and two vacancies on the local election ballot for June 13.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town office. In addition to elections, voters will accept or reject the school budget approved at the June 5 open town meeting and a state bond issue.

The only local contest is for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen. Larisa “Reese” Batchelder, of East Vassalboro, is challenging incumbent Lauchlin Titus, of North Vassalboro.

For the school board, there are three openings, two for three-year terms and one for two years to fill out an unfinished term. Erin Loiko, whose term ends this year, seeks reelection; there is no candidate on the ballot for the other three-year position, currently held by Susan Tuthill, who was appointed in 2016 for the remaining months of the late Frederick “Rick” Denico’s term. Jessica Clark is unopposed for a two-year term on the school board. That seat is now held by Lori Fowle, appointed to succeed Elizabeth Mitchell after Mitchell was elected Probate Court judge in November 2016.

On the Sanitary District Board of Trustees, Paul Mitnik’s and treasurer Rebecca Goodrich’s terms end in 2017. Only Goodrich’s name is on the June 13 ballot. Voters have space to write in names for as many positions as are open. The candidate with the most votes, whether listed on the ballot or getting write-in votes, is elected, assuming he or she is willing to serve.

The two candidates for selectman replied to a questionnaire from The Town Line. They were asked what they would like to accomplish if serving on the board of selectmen and what else they would like voters to know about them. Their answers follow. Batchelder, 38, has lived at 371 Main Street, in East Vassalboro, since December 2015. She is co-owner of Cozy Barn Antiques.

Batchelder said: “I go into this venture with an open mind. My goal is to open communication between the community and the board of selectman. I want to have an open mind when listening to the community and only make decisions after they have been heard, not before. I want to be sure that our small town government is free of cliques that can hinder good choices and cause favoritism. My aim is to vote according to the law and the people of Vassalboro of whom I would represent.” (ep)

She added: “I bought my forever home in this town, because I love this town and the people in it. I have made this town the home of my small business and the place my child will grow up. I would like to use my education in political sciences as well as my time and desire for positive change, to be of assistance to the town I love.”

Titus, 62, has lived in Vassalboro 30 years. He is a Certified Professional Agronomist, owner of AgMatters, LLC, “a private agricultural consulting business that works with Maine farmers providing crop consulting services as well as food safety training.” He also has a small farm and sells vegetables from the family home at 1063 Main Street, in North Vassalboro.

Titus wrote that two recent useful developments “are implementation of an Employee Manual and improved handling of the town’s finances with a sound investment strategy and the use of detailed audits. These both need periodic review and adjustment.”

He continued, “I want to see the work being done by town staff and a core group of volunteers continue toward providing and improving services to the aging population of the community. Lastly, always looking to save money where possible, I want the town to monitor the work of other Maine communities to possibly transition streetlights to LED lights,” a change selectmen have been told “could reduce the cost of electricity to the vicinity of 25 percent of what we pay now after a four-year project repayment – which will be at our current budgeted amount for streetlight usage.”

Titus included a summary of other town positions he has held or now holds: “I was on the school committee for three years, budget committee for several years, and on the board of selectmen for the past nine years. When the town had a road committee I served on that, have served as a library trustee, am an active member of Vassalboro Grange and Vassalboro Business Association, and I’m an interested, but admittedly less active, member of the Vassalboro Historical Society.”