SKOWHEGAN — Wind turbines, taxes and paying for the county jail all are important topics to candidates running for two new seats on the board of Somerset County commissioners.

The candidates for the District 3 seat are Robin E. Frost and Shane F. Reitze, both of Palmyra. The winner in the Nov. 8 election will represent Canaan, Detroit, Hartland, Palmyra and Pittsfield.

The candidates for the District 5 seat are Andrew Davis of Solon and Lloyd Trafton of West Forks. Stephen C. Coleman, of Dennistown Plantation, who had been a candidate, died last month in a drowning accident.

The winner will represent Athens, Bingham, Brighton Plantation, Cambridge, Caratunk, Concord Township, Dennistown Plantation, Harmony, Jackman, Moose River, Moscow, Pleasant Ridge Plantation, Ripley, St. Albans, Solon, The Forks, West Forks and the unorganized territories of Central Somerset, Northeast Somerset, Seboomook Lake Township and Northwest Somerset, except Lexington Township.

A new five-member board takes effect Jan. 1, based on the county charter passed by voters in 2010. The board currently has three districts and three county commissioners. Elections for the other districts will be in 2012.

Frost, Reitze in District 3 contest

In the District 3 race, Frost, 61, said his years of public service and his interest in business qualify him for the open seat on the board.

He was a firefighter in the 1980s, managed a small fleet of cars for state police in Connecticut, is a citizen member of the Maine Sheriff’s Association, and was a volunteer adult supervisor for The Yard in Hartland, a youth drop-in center.

“My family comes from Maine in excess of three hundred years — I have deep roots here,” said Frost, who grew up in Connecticut. “I know how to generate money — work for it.”

Frost said he worked on the town budget last year, bringing both sides together on using the closed elementary school as a community center and getting the town another garage.

He said issues that are of interest to him include the inadequate compensation the is receiving for boarding of out-of-area inmates at the Somerset County Jail.

“That’s a lot of money and we’re not getting a fair shake on that,” he said.

Another issue, Frost said, is the proposed installation of wind mills for electrical power generation in Somerset County. He said he would do his homework on the matter and vote the will of the people he represents, if elected.

Frost’s opponent, Shane Reitze, 40, also of Palmyra, spent two years on a mission to Portugal for the Mormon church.

“I am very hard working and detail oriented and a family-oriented individual,” he said. “Why am I running? There are two reasons that come to mind — number one is the taxation that the county people are burdened with as far as the jail goes. That’s a pretty big deal.”

Reitze said he will study the problem and confer with the other Somerset commissioners for possible solutions.

He said the proposed wind-power turbines in Somerset County are another concern of his. He said he has seen the effects of wind power generation at the Kibby Mountain project near his camp in Eustis and said he didn’t like what he saw.

He said project organizers “blew off the top of the mountains” to put in the wind turbines.

“I am pro-wind mill, done in the proper way — I do believe in green energy, as long they are a benefit, not only to the environment, but to the people,” he said. “You can’t have one and ignore the other.”

Davis, Trafton seek District 5 seat

In the District 5 race, Andrew Davis, 56, of Solon, said he left the School Administrative District 74 board to explore new and different opportunities to serve the public.

“I like to be involved,” he said. “The wind power issue is something we need to look at; we need to look at the pros and cons of wind power. I am for wind power in some situations and against wind power in other situations.”

Davis said wind power would best be used in areas where the turbines are not obstructing the scenery and the natural environment.

He also said that through his job at the Department of Health and Human Service he works at the county jail and sees the everyday workings of the jail.

“The jail is one of the larger expenses we have in the county,” he said. “I think it’s important to make sure that facility is being operated at its more efficient and economical way possible.”

Davis said he will listen to the “concerns, thoughts and feelings” of the people of Somerset County if he is elected.

His opponent, Lloyd Trafton, 65, of West Forks, said his many years in municipal government and on the local school board makes him a qualified candidate for the county commissioner’s seat.

“I was on the citizens’ committee when they built the new jail,” he said. “There’s administrative things that I’m interested to see get carried out. I want to be involved in the local county politics.”

Trafton said he has no specific agenda for work to get done if he is elected, saying he will be there to administer the people’s agenda, not his own. He said his goal if elected will be to do his part in hold down spending in upcoming county budgets.

“The Baldacci administration gave Somerset County a raw deal on the jail construction,” he said. “The citizens of Somerset County are paying for that jail; they’re carrying the full load. There was no grant money from the federal government. The citizens of Somerset County own that jail and the other counties are getting a free ride bringing prisoners here for $20.”

He said he would hope to find ways to correct that if he is elected.

In towns with a population of 500 or more, the polls can open between 6 and 8 a.m. In towns with a population of less than 500, the polls can open between 6 and 10 a.m.

All polling places close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

 

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