Sam Smith - Taking a short break from national
politics, I spent some time today reviewing the candidates for a local
election here in Maine, namely members of Freeport Sewer District board.
Among the candidates:
· Michael Ashby is a clam
digger who wants to make sure “we have clean water for everyone.” And he
plans to take care of sewer odors.
· Andrew Sachs is a
disaster consultant who has never held public office but has done a lot
of volunteer work. He has also collaborated with many water and sewer
districts on various grant proposals.
· Sarah Randall is an environmental consultant whose specialties include management of fisheries.
·
James Harriman is a shell fish harvester who says, “the sewer
treatment plant affects my work quite a bit. “ He added that being on
the board would be a good way to determine if he wants to go into
politics.
· Clinton Goodenow Jr is a fisherman and clam
digger as well as treasurer of the Maine Clammers Association and is
ending a three year term on the sewer district board. He notes that a
lot of new people are running and “Sometimes bringing in all new people
work well because they’re all bringing in new ideas, but it also slows
thins down as they try to get going. I’d like to stay another year and
help them stay on track.”
I haven’t decided yet for whom I’m
going to vote, one reason being that they all sound pretty damn good and
know something about the post they’re seeking. Following national
politics, I’m often not presented with this problem and so am a little
out of touch with how to handle it.
There is also the tendency
of politicians in my town to not say nasty things about their opponents
or untrue things about their pasts or try to get voters to hate some of
those in the race.
So I’ll talk to folks I respect and get their
opinions, think about it, and then go do the best I can on November 3.
As I do so, however, I’m going to be wishing that some of those running
for the White House on the Republican side were as wise about it as
these local candidates are about our town’s sewer district.
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