WATERVILLE — City councilors on Tuesday are expected to name a new Ward 6 city councilor to replace Eliza Mathias, who resigned recently.

Three candidates are vying for the position: Dana Bushee Hernandez, a Democrat and member of the city’s Planning Board; Michael Owens, a former city councilor representing Ward 2 who is unenrolled; and Eric Poirier, a businessman and political newcomer.

The new councilor will serve in the role until the end of 2014, when Mathias’ term would have ended, according to City Clerk Patti Dubois.

Hernandez, 39, is a training institute manager for the nonprofit organization, Hardy Girls Healthy Women, based in Waterville. She has served on the Planning Board about three years and has worked on the comprehensive plan, helped draft an ordinance prohibiting tobacco at local parks and is treasurer and a founding member of the parent-teacher organization at George J. Mitchell School.

Hernandez says she has enjoyed serving the city and wants to continue, in the role of councilor.

Waterville is at a pivotal moment and has big decisions to make regarding budgets and the comprehensive plan, she said.

“I want to be a champion for Waterville,” she said. “I own a home in Waterville, I’m raising two children here and I just want to be a voice for all the families that need our city to thrive. It’s not about politics; it’s about supporting our neighbors and community in the same spirit that we had in the early times of our city.”

Hernandez, of Silver Terrace, is a 1992 graduate of Desert High School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and a 1997 communications graduate of of San Diego State University. She has also completed some graduate study in education.

Owens, 30, served in the council’s Ward 2 seat for about a year before moving out of the ward in October and into Ward 6.

Owens, now of West Street, is an educational technician III at Waterville Junior High School. When Mathias’ seat was vacated, several people asked him to run for the Ward 6 seat, he said.

“I care about Waterville and I just want to help in any way I can,” he said. “I’m not (running for the seat) for any political aspirations. It’s not about me, whatsoever. I just want to do what’s best for Waterville.”

Owens said he enjoyed being on the council and looks forward to working on issues including solid waste and recycling. He previously served on a recycling committee, as well as the board of directors for Kennebec Messalonskee Trails.

A 2001 graduate of Waterville Senior High School, Owens earned a bachelor’s degree in resource management, with a concentration in agribusiness, from University of Maine in 2005, and a master’s in public administration, also from University of Maine in 2009.

Poirier, of West Court, owns Poirier Capital Investment Group Inc., a company he founded in 2006. The company has two divisions: Poirier Properties of Maine and Maine Energy Pros Inc.

A 1990 Waterville High School graduate, Poirier earned a bachelor’s degree in education and multimedia management, as well as a master’s in higher education management, from Goddard College in Vermont.

“As an invested businessman residing in Waterville, I have a deep-seated interest in local current affairs,” according to Poirier’s letter of interest to the city, dated Nov. 7. “I believe that I would be able to positively contribute to the efforts of the Waterville City Council and am excited about the possibility of serving in this capacity.”

Efforts to reach Poirier Tuesday for comment were unsuccessful.

In his professional career, he has had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the country, working at colleges and universities, according to his letter.

“The experiences I have obtained through both my formal education and professional life have provided me with an invaluable foundation from which I have been able to form my own company,” he wrote.

As co-founder and president of his company, his responsibilities include organizational development and growth, daily business operations and overall financial performance, according to his resume.

Tuesday’s meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at The Center downtown and will be preceded at 6:45 p.m. by a review of the city’s 2012-2013 audit.

Amy Calder — 861-9247acalder@centralmaine.comTwitter: @AmyCalder17