WINSLOW — Voters on Nov. 7 will decide among eight candidates vying for three seats on the Town Council.

The town elections that day also will include one contested race for school board. The candidates in both the council and school board races are seeking three-year terms.

Town Council, District 1

Doug Crawley, 59, is a newcomer to politics and a Winslow resident of 35 years who is competing for the District 1 seat held by council Chairman Peter Drapeau. Crawley is running on a platform of fiscal conservatism and small government, saying in a social media post announcing his campaign that he is running to stop what he called “a town grossly overspending.”

Crawley has been critical of how the town government handled its recent revaluation, which saw many residents’ property tax bills jump upward this year. He told the Morning Sentinel that he intends to thoroughly examine Winslow’s budget, saying “every dollar we spend can be scrutinized.”

Crawley said his outsider status gives him a fresh, unbiased view of town government.

“I don’t own a business like the other two gentlemen,” Crawley said of Drapeau and the third candidate for the seat, Michael Joseph. “They’re all successful businessmen, and I’m good with that. But I’ve lived check-to-check like most people. I’ve worked two or three jobs to support my family.”

“I’m not poor, but I’m not rich,” he added. “I’m like a common person.”

Drapeau, 66, has been a resident of Winslow since 1982 and was first elected to the council three years ago. He is a longtime businessman, the owner of Peter Drapeau Trucking, and the founder of three other companies he has sold over the years.

Before winning a seat on the council, Drapeau sat on the committees that hired outgoing Town Manager Erica LaCroix and then-Chief of Police Leonard Macdaid. Drapeau is running on his accomplishments in office, touting progress on major infrastructure projects such as the Ticonic Bridge and Chaffee Brook Pump Station.

“I know all the business owners in town,” he said. “I keep a pulse on how their businesses are doing, what we can do to improve the community so that businesses are more lucrative and prosperous.”

A third party investigation concluded last week that Drapeau risked violating the law by hosting “informal gatherings” of town councilors and administrators at his trucking company, though there was insufficient evidence the council broke any laws by discussing municipal business at Drapeau’s garage.

Drapeau said he doesn’t believe residents have lost faith in the council, though he plans to restore public trust by having more discussions during council meetings.

“I would like to say that I don’t think we have lost the trust of the majority of the public,” he said. “We will address more of the issues at council. Apparently people want us to talk about mundane issues that probably will bore them to death, but they believe that’s being more transparent. That will happen. We will curtail meeting in private here at the shop.”

Joseph, 69, is also running for Drapeau’s seat and owns Joseph’s Flooring in Winslow. He describes himself as a conservative businessman aiming to cut what he describes as “unnecessary spending” in the town’s budget, citing recent paving projects and upgrades to Winslow’s fire trucks and ambulances as areas where the town could have done more to find savings.

“The reason why our taxes increased so much is because of what this council has voted on,” he said. “Because of the spending that this council has been voting on.”

“I think it’s time for a change here in Winslow for unnecessary spending,” he said. “And more so that I look at the people that are on fixed incomes. I want to be able to help these people here.”

Joseph has been critical of Drapeau and other councilors at meetings for what he describes as a lack of transparency.

“If there’s a meeting that’s going to be done by two or three (councilors) — especially three or four — they should be advertised and have the door open,” Joseph said. “Meet at the town office and say, ‘Hey, if the public wants to speak out, speak out.’ Yeah, it’s gonna take probably a little bit more time, but damn it, that’s what we need to do.”

Town Council, District 3

One of the two challengers for the District 3 council seat held by Jerry Quirion is Frances Hudson.

Hudson, 63, is running against Quirion for the second time, having been defeated by him in 2020 by just 35 votes.

Hudson is a Winslow resident of nearly 40 years who has built a name as an outspoken critic at council meetings and is administrator of the “What’s Happening in Winslow, Maine?” Facebook group. In social media posts shared to the group, Hudson has called Winslow’s tax rate “outrageous,” saying she plans to cut what she described as unnecessary spending.

Hudson said in an earlier post that she wanted residents to vote on the town’s budget “the same way we do for the school budget.”

“There’s way too much overspending in the town of Winslow in the last couple of years,” Hudson told the Morning Sentinel. “I would say that’s the biggest problem right now, dealing with the budget and the overspending for the town.”

The second challenger, Gary Owen, 71, has been a Winslow resident for 48 years and previously served on the zoning board of appeals. He also served with the Maine Army National Guard for 23 years. He is chairman of Winslow’s planning board and his term is set to run until 2025.

Owen is running on his years of experience in town government, and has pitched himself to voters as a fiscal conservative looking to lower taxes for residents on fixed incomes. He told the Morning Sentinel that he aims to rebuild trust between town officials and the residents they serve.

“People who are not willing to look at both sides can’t be relied upon to make decisions,” Owen said. “What I want to do is have a cooperative effort. And the only way to do that is to say what I’m saying.”

Quirion, 77, has been on the Town Council for 12 years. He is a Vietnam veteran who served for 38 years in the U.S. Naval Reserves and describes himself as a “conservative moderate.” Quirion has made maintaining Winslow’s roads, bridges and critical infrastructure central to his platform in years prior, but says his campaign this year is focused on reducing unnecessary spending.

“I will not spend money needlessly,” he said. “It’s not what we want, but what we need that’s the important thing. Do we really need this? Do we really need that?”

He’s the councilor who first raised concerns that Drapeau was meeting with other councilors outside of the public eye. Quirion said he had gone to several of the meetings two or three years ago held at Drapeau’s business, but stopped attending because he was uncomfortable discussing town affairs without the public’s knowledge.

“I would leave just as they would start talking about town business. It was time to leave,” Quirion said earlier. “They thought that I was going to be one of their rubber stamps, and I wasn’t. I work for the people.”

Town Council, District 5

Joseph “Rocky” Gravel, 60, is a town councilor of three years facing a challenge by Adam Lint, a newcomer to public office.

Gravel was a member of the Fire Department for 43 years, retiring three years ago as a captain. He is the founder of Evergreen Lawn Care Inc., a lawn care company based out of Winslow.

He said his record as a councilor speaks for itself and that he plans to continue his approach of personal integrity and pragmatism if he secures a second term.

“I’ve lived in the town of Winslow all my life, I’ve worked in the town of Winslow all my life,” he said. “So I know the town from both sides, and I am a taxpayer as well. So I’ve seen the town at all angles and from the inside out.”

Lint, 34, was born and raised in Winslow and said his platform centers on “compassion, camaraderie and local business.” He said accountability and transparency are central to his campaign, and he’s critical of councilors who participated in informal, private gatherings at Drapeau’s business to discuss municipal matters.

“We need to be transparent and make our town feel like their opinions are being heard and addressed in a proper manner,” Lint said, “instead of belittling and talking down to our public as they do on a regular basis.”

Lint said he believes the council hasn’t done enough to represent average Winslow citizens, and that he plans to use his status as a political newcomer to change that.

“A lot of them have what they consider a good old boys club or they’ve been around for a long time,” he said. “They’re all friends with each other. I plan on going in and just doing what the district asks of me and what my constituents ask.”

School Board, District 5

The only contested race for school board involves political newcomer Ashley Powell challenging the incumbent, Jay McIntire.

Powell, 34, is a mother of six children currently enrolled at each of Winslow’s three schools. She has a history as an educator in Waterville having worked as an educational technician III, and says she is an active member in Winslow’s parent-teacher organization.

Improving accessibility for disabled students and advocating for parents on the board are the primary tenets of her campaign. She spoke highly of McIntire, but said that her fresh perspective sets her apart from him. Powell said her newcomer status gives her a “fresh set of eyes and a fresh set of ears” that she said the school board needs.

“I’m a newbie to politics, and politics really aren’t my friend,” she said. “But I know in order to get stuff done, you have to go through the political system to do it now. So there’s no beating around the bush. You have to just get in there and get your feet wet and do what needs to be done.”

McIntire, 61, has been on the school board since 2020. He is a father of two and has lived in Winslow for seven years. McIntire has worked in a variety of educational roles, having been a special education teacher, an educational policy specialist and a district superintendent, among other positions.

McIntire said his campaign is centered on enhancing students’ experience at school, and explained that his previous roles working with students and also in administrative positions have given him a deep understanding of the demands facing school districts today.

“I’ve done so many different things in education … and I want to provide a strong stable support to help the school district meet the needs of individual as well as collective children,” he said.

Voting on Nov. 7 will be held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building at 175 Veterans Drive, and polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Maine allows for unregistered voters to register at the polls with identification and proof of residency.

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