Candidate profiles to air daily up to election on public access channel
By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the city of Caribou, played host to a candidate meet and greet session held at the town office on Saturday morning.
The public was invited to meet and ask questions of the six candidates running for city council and three candidates running for the Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 school board. Three candidates, James T. Cerrato, David A. Martin and Joan L. Theriault, are running for the two three-year open council slots, and three candidates, Shane Michael McDougall, Norma B. Milton and Carol A. Pierson, are running for the two open one-year council slots.
The school board has one three-year slot available to replace current board member Lynn McNeal, whose term is up at the end of the year. Running for that position are Philip J. McDonough III, Tanya L. Sleeper and Miles R. Williams.
According to Assistant City Manager Tony Mazzucco, the candidates elected for City Council will step into some unique circumstances.
“They will begin their term during budget negotiations,” Mazzucco explained, “so we prepared packets for the candidates that included the past year’s budget and this year’s budget information.”
Theriault and Martin both currently serve on the council. Martin was elected in 2010 and Theriault was appointed in 2012 as an interim councilor. Martin’s three-year term is up at the end of the year.
The other two vacancies currently belong to interim councilor Aaron Kouhopt, who was appointed this year, and Deputy Mayor Ken Murchison, who was elected in 2010 and whose term is up at the end of the year. Murchison and Kouhopt are not running for re-election.
During the meet and greet session, the candidates also had the opportunity to be interviewed by Aroostook Republican staff reporter Natalie De La Garza. The interviews took place in council chambers and were recorded to be aired on public access television at least once a day until the election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
“The real purpose today was to get candidates some air time before the election,” said Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce Director William Tasker.
Candidate meet and greet sessions and profiles have been done in the past, but not in recent years, according to Tasker, who credited Mazzucco and City Clerk Jayne Farrin with help organizing the event. “It really went well. The work Tony and Jayne did was excellent,” Tasker commented. “We would have liked for more people to show up, but Natalie did a great job and people will get a television show.”
The municipal candidate election, along with the referendum election, will be held at the Caribou Wellness Center on Nov. 5. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are available by contacting the city office at 493-3324.
