In mid-October, the Aroostook County Municipal Association will be hosting two events designed to provide municipal officials an opportunity to meet the candidates for both the Maine House of Representatives and Maine Senate. The particular focus of these candidate forums will be the nature of the state government-local government relationship and various other issues.
Rather than hosting one session for the 19 candidates vying to represent the voters of Aroostook County, the Association will hold two smaller events. The first debate will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Van Buren High School. Candidates invited to participate in this session include:
Senate District 1: Peter Edgecomb (Caribou) and Ken Theriault (Madawaska).
House District 146: Troy Haines (Mapleton) and Dustin White (Washburn).
House District 149: Carol McElwee (Caribou), running unopposed.
House District 150: Craig Lawrence (Frenchville) and Roland Martin (Sinclair).
House District 151: John Martin (Eagle Lake) and Michael Nadeau (Fort Kent).
The second debate will be held on Thursday, Oct. 16 in the Houlton Council Chambers. Candidates invited to participate in this session include:
Senate District 2: Michael Carpenter (Houlton) and Michael Willette (Presque Isle).
House District 144: Roger Sherman (Hodgdon), running unopposed.
House District 145: Glenn Hines (Hammond) and Ricky Long (Sherman)
House District 147 Larry Fox (Presque Isle) and Robert Saucier (Presque Isle)
House District 148: Anthony Edgecomb (Fort Fairfield), Gregory Ward (Limestone) and Alan Whittemore (Limestone).
Both sessions will begin at 6:30 p.m. Municipal officials are welcome to attend one or both sessions. The evening’s events will kick-off with an opportunity for each candidate to introduce him or herself, explain why they are running for state office, describe their goals for the legislative session, their experiences with or in state or local government, etc.
After the initial round of introductions, candidates will be asked nine municipally-relevant questions on such matters as revenue sharing, school funding, tax policy, road maintenance responsibilities, environmental regulations, state mandates, local government consolidation and the overall relationship between state and local governments. After the scripted questions are asked, time will be reserved for questions from the audience.
