Candidates for Wilton’s Select Board and the Regional School Unit 9 Board of Directors gathered at a “meet and greet” Wednesday, June 1, at the Wilton Lions Community Building. Voters will have the opportunity to elect two of five candidates in the running for seats on the Select Board Tuesday, June 14. From left are Lillian Lake, running for the Select Board, Kyle Fletcher, running unopposed for a seat on the RSU 9 board, moderator and state Sen. Russell Black (R-17), incumbent Selectperson Tiffany Maiuri, Select Board candidate Evret Greer and Select Board candidate Cherieann Harrison. Mike Wells, also running for a seat on the Select Board, was unable to attend the meeting.
WILTON — At the Tuesday, June 14, election voters will elect two people to the Wilton Select Board.
Running for the first three-year seat, currently held by retiring Selectperson Tom Saviello are Cherieann Harrison, a current director on the Regional School Unit 9 Board of Directors, Evret Greer a member of Wilton’s Finance Committee and Mike Wells, a member of Wilton’s Board of Appeals.
Lillian Lake and incumbent Selectperson Tiffany Maiuri are running for the second, three-year seat.
The polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Wilton Town Office. Alongside the Select Board elections, voters will also be asked to approve the Regional School Unit 9 $39.99 million budget, elect a Republican congressional candidate and elect a director to the RSU 9 Board of Directors (with Wilton Planning Board member Kyle Fletcher currently running unopposed).
Leading up to the election, the five candidates answered a series of questions for the Franklin Journal about their candidacies, agendas and experiences.
Why are you running for the Select Board?
Harrison said she is running for the position because “I believe in public service to our community.”
Greer said serving on the board would serve as “a step in the direction of many towards future goals.”
“Understanding what municipalities deal with from one year to the next, and gaining the support of local voters, will only bolster my transition into a State or Federal position,” Greer wrote.
Wells said he is running to help bolster Wilton’s municipal government.
“Wilton has a unique character that should be preserved with a responsive and efficient town government,” Wells wrote. “I feel my skills and background will allow us, as a town, to keep the high level of services while keeping taxes low.”
Lake, the only candidate running against an incumbent, said she wants “to serve my community as a servant leader, bringing honesty, transparency, and integrity to the position.”
Maiuri said she is running for reelection to continue helping the board to achieve advancements in town.
“I am thankful the voters of Wilton have allowed me to serve on the Selectboard these past nine years, and I respectfully ask for their vote to remain so I may continue to listen to their concerns and thoughtfully address the needs of the Town in a fiscally responsible manner,” Maiuri wrote. “With the support of the citizens and businesses, combined with the hard work and dedication of the town employees and volunteers, together we have achieved so much over the past nine years.
“These achievements have all been made while maintaining a property tax rate which has remained relatively stable, or has slightly declined, over the past several years.”
What do you consider the most pressing issue(s) facing the town and how would you address it (them)?
Maiuri said the most pressing issues are the same facing the whole country, the same “each of us are confronted with in our own personal lives”: “the pressures of historic inflation (especially gas and home heating oil), a costly and prolonged pandemic, and supply chain issues.”
“Each of these contribute to increasing costs in all areas, including services provided by the Town and planned future projects,” Maiuri wrote.
“If re-elected, I would address these issues through fiscal prudence, spending taxpayer money wisely within the set budget, and keeping my long standing goal of maintaining a property tax rate which is stable or decreasing,” she continued. “This can only be accomplished with long-term planning, seeking grants, support of the community, and a solid understanding and implementation of sound budgeting practices. With Rhonda Irish’s impending retirement (our current Town Manager) the need to maintain stability while onboarding the next Town Manager is absolutely critical to the current and future success of the Town.”
Lake believes pressing needs include infrastructure and the selection of a new town manager, which requires collaboration across the community’s town employees, residents, businesses and school staff.
“As first steps [for infrastructure], I will assess our resources and past efforts, what needs remain, and outline solutions in cooperation with department managers and fellow board members,” Lake wrote. “The right candidate [for town manager] will have a vision, “can-do” energy and community spirit. A selection committee consisting of the board, business owners, and citizens is needed. It will be the first step in empowering the community to have a hand in creating their future.”
She said she plans to hold a “collective meeting” with small businesses and farmers to learn about what they believe are the “most pressing needs,” “suggestions to address them,” and then “dig in and find the best solutions, which may include reviving the local Chamber of Commerce.”
“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy. I have a vision for this community to make this town a destination by highlighting our resources, including lakes, streams, parks, lodging, restaurants, etc.; we will continue revitalizing downtown, Rte 2, and outlying areas,” Lake wrote. “Let’s discover how the board can help them thrive and keep these businesses in Wilton. We have solid entrepreneurial talent here. I want to keep it here.”
She also wants to “encourage events and programs that strengthen the children in our community and support seniors.”
Harrison said there are many “pressing issues that need to be addressed” that were not yet addressed by town committees or projects delayed to COVID-19 precaution measures.
Those issues, projects and needs include “our towns water and sewer needs, completion of the work on the retention wall at Lake and seeing successful implementation of Broadband access to local residents.”
“We need to elect representatives that will continue the work that has been started on these items,” Harrison wrote. “We also need voices that highlight new and growing issues that may have been overlooked like the deterioration of our roads and sidewalks or the opportunity that Solar Power credits could bring our town.”
Wells wrote that while he prefers “to focus on the positive aspects of our Town,” the needs in Wilton include “ordinances that are not being enforced” such as “disorderly properties and junk accumulation in peoples yards.”
To be kind to our neighbors and maintain property values, we should enlist the help of our planning board and town citizens to bolster the existing ordinances and to form a volunteer group to help the elderly maintain their properties,” Wells wrote.
He also wants “to bring a business into the old Bass building on the Weld Road” because “having industry and great jobs will help with the tax base to sustainably maintain the town departments, therefore providing the services we all utilize.”
Greer believes Wilton’s pressing issues are “town health and sustainability.”
“With the standard of living rising beyond that of our wages a balanced budget will always be necessary. Planning far enough in advance will allow for less of a burden as time passes,” Greer wrote. “Town infrastructure is going to need to be updated and residential properties will need to be cleaned up. Getting more residents involved and understanding what needs to be done will help achieve successful growth within the town.”
What qualifications would/do you bring to the position?
Wells said that he has served as a military commander, is “familiar with running a budget and managing personnel,” and works as a small real-estate developer.
This, he wrote, “fits well with the expectations for a selectman” and, as a result, “I understand and have worked extensively with organizations such as the Army Corps of Engineers, DEP, and planning boards … [and] I understand the costs and complexities of road building and maintenance, and the maintenance of our water and sewer infrastructure.”
Greer said he brings experience from four years on Wilton’s Finance Committee and work in supervisor and management positions across the country.
He wrote that this “allow[s] me the ability to work with many types of people.”
“I do my best to keep learning new things all while staying true to who I am and what I believe,” Greer wrote. “I have practiced honesty and patience in everything that I do. Going forth with the Select Board will be no different.”
Lake, who has a degree in business administration, said she is “strong in collaboration, communication, and cooperation, with a network that extends beyond Wilton.”
“I have faith in the people of my community. I believe in transparency and inclusiveness and have utilized those beliefs while serving on organizational boards,” Lake wrote. “I have a vision for bringing strength and power back to the people of our community. I am experienced building local food economies. I understand that none of us can know everything, it’s important to reach out help and empower residents to take part in developing their future.”
Harrison said since high school, she has “dedicated myself to finding ways to serve my community.”
She said brings to the position experience as the secretary of her senior class at Mt. Blue High School, the University of Maine at Farmington Student Senate’s Officer of Financial Affairs, a member of the Wilton Planning Board from 2017 to 2020 and one of Wilton’s directors on the Regional School Unit 9 Director from 2014 to the end of this current school year.
On the RSU 9 Board, Harrison wrote that she has “been the Contract Negotiation Lead for: Board Bargaining Unit v. RSU 9 Directors, and Board Bargaining Unit v. RSU 9 Teachers Union, an Operations Committee Chair, the Vice Chairwoman for the RSU 9 Schoolboard 2017-2018, and Board Chair 2018-2020.”
Maiuri wrote that she is “a past Board of Trustee of the Wilton Library, current board member of Greater Franklin, member of the Lion’s Club, Wilton Fish and Game, Friends of Wilson Lake, and active member of St. Rose and St. Joe’s parishes. She said she has also served on many of Wilton’s municipal committees, including the Public Safety, Parks and Recreation, Cemetery committees alongside “several ad-hoc committees.”
Maiuri also added that in her job at UMF, she “is overseeing multi-million dollar budgets and conducting multi year fiscal analysis to keep costs under control.”
“I bring to the table extensive municipal experience, successful grant writing, strategic vision, and most importantly the ability to effectively plan and budget for the needs of the community in fiscally conservative manner,” she wrote. “[These experiences allow] me to hear a wide and varying point of view which I bring forth to the board on the behalf of the citizens.”
She added that “equally important is understanding the needs of our town through the viewpoint of our citizens and businesses. I have been, and continue to be, intimately involved in our local community.”
Finally, please share a bit about you, your family and how long you have lived in Wilton.
Lake said she has lived with her family in Wilton for 35 years; her husband was raised on the Weld Road.
“Growing our three children, I loved having their friends congregate in our home and backyard. When they come home with their families, their friends are here, too, with their families,” Lake wrote. “When my shattered elbow heals, I’ll be back cooking, hiking, swimming, kayaking, and biking.”
She added that she is a “Caregiver Advocate highlighting Young Carers” and “a bereavement group facilitator.”
“People who know me will no doubt tell you I’m passionate in educating about human trafficking and connecting people with topics regarding food,” Lake wrote. “I’m compassionate and empathetic. I enjoy listening to people’s stories and writing as an author and journalist.”
Greer, 37, said he grew up in Livermore Falls, where his mother was born and raised, and has now “been living alone with my dog and bird for about six years.”
“I have lived in many places, traveled to many more and had the opportunity to meet a lot of people,” Greer wrote.
Maiuri said she is formerly from Gloucester, Massachusetts, worked as a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer until retiring in 2000, and then moved to her camp in Industry where she began her undergraduate studies in computer sciences at UMF, graduated in 2005, began her “dream of raising a family” and then moved to Wilton in 2006 “as the charm of this Town, combined with the recreational opportunities, were an ideal fit for my soon-to-be family.”
That family includes “five high-risk/high-need teenagers” that Maiuri fostered, adopted-daughter Becca, and a “wonderful 11 year old grandson who stays with me on the weekends.”
“In my spare time,” Maiuri wrote, “I am an avid outdoor enthusiast, who loves to hike, fish, ATV, hunt big game, and lead/participate in ecological tours and birdwatching.”
Harrison said she was raised in Temple alongside “most of my family that grew up in this area,” who “have chosen to set deep roots locally” across Temple, East Dixfield, Wilton and Farmington Falls. Harrison said she purchased a home in Wilton in 2010.
She wrote she graduated from Mt. Blue High School, received a bachelor’s degree from UMF in Independent Study with a concentration in Biology and Chemistry, and worked as a nationally certified pharmacy technician at Howard’s Rexall and Franklin Memorial Hospital.
“I stayed local for most of my career,” Harrison wrote.
Additionally, Harrison said that since 2015, she’s “worked with Change Healthcare as the Operation Supervisor for Medicaid Drug Rebate Negotiated Contracts” where she works “with a team of clinicians and analysts to assist 13 States in a Consortium to find the best Supplemental Rebate pricing for their Medicaid Preferred Drug List, saving the States millions and working to a more comprehensive Medicaid Plan … [which] includes the State of Maine.”
Wells said his parents grew up in Wilton, he visited the town “throughout my youth to visit grandparents and the plethora of aunts, uncles, and cousins,” and he “worked a few summers for the family business, Belle of Maine, working in the fields and the canning factory.”
Wells wrote he moved to Wilton in 2007 after retiring from the military and deciding the town “would be a perfect place to settle.”
“Since moving to Wilton, we have tackled numerous renovation projects of old homes and the former Primary School,” he wrote.
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