A June 2022 photo shows a sign with voter information in downtown Fairfield. This Election Day, polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in the Fairfield Community Center at 61 Water St. Absentee ballots are available until Oct. 31. Ballots can be mailed by request by calling the Town Office at 207-453-7911. A 24-hour ballot drop box is located at the Town Office, 19 Lawrence Ave. Morning Sentinel file photo

FAIRFIELD — Two elections will determine three seats on the Town Council, as seven candidates vie for residents’ votes this November.

Fairfield’s Town Council has five seats, each with a term of three years. Councilors are paid $41.66 per meeting they attend rather than an annual salary, while the council chair receives $50 per meeting.

In one race, Kevin Kitchin and Matthew Tulley are running to fill the two remaining years in the term of councilor Duane Bickford, who announced his resignation in May. His seat has been held in the interim by Adam Lerette, who will serve until January when his successor is sworn in.

Kitchin, 55, is a retired Naval officer running for his first elected position. He previously ran for the Maine Senate in 2022, but lost in the Republican primary to Michael Perkins.

Tulley, 54, is running for council again after finishing second in a three-way council race last year. If elected, the position would be his first in municipal government.

Kitchin declined to answer questions about his candidacy, instead directing a reporter to his campaign website.

His site lists a number of policy priorities, from stopping “government overreach” on the Second Amendment to reining in government spending.

“It’s time to stop overreach! It’s simply against constitutional law for our State to enact policies that takes away from our constitutional rights,” Kitchin’s website reads. “Too often policies or laws pass that violate our constitution.”

His site does not list specific policies or laws that violate constitutional rights.

Tulley’s campaign this year is similar to the one he ran last year. He is focusing on municipal transparency and business development, saying the town council hasn’t done enough to involve citizens in community politics and events alike.

“I’d like to have the town be more transparent,” Tulley wrote in a text. “Have their website be more user-friendly for our seniors, have a rec department for our children to actually have something to do, and try to be more diverse on attracting business.”

In a race for two, full-term council seats, residents will cast votes between Casey Begin, Kerry Parkhurst Hekl, Timothy Martin, Ronald Mclaggan and Matthew Townsend. Townsend is the council’s current chairman and is seeking reelection.

Begin is 55 and owns C&S Computer Solutions in Fairfield. He is the founder and administrator of “Fairfield Maine Our Community Group,” a Facebook group with more than 6,500 members, and previously worked as a computer network administrator for the Maine Legislature. This is his first time seeking elected office.

Hekl, 49, has served on Fairfield’s Economic and Community Development Committee and is the director of the Maine Department of Labor’s Unemployment Tax Division.

Martin, 53, is a Fairfield resident of 51 years and vice president of Cornerstone Insurance Agency in Waterville. He’s the current chairman of the Fairfield Budget Committee, a seat he’s held for six years. Martin has also served on Fairfield’s Board of Assessment Appeals, Economic and Community Development Committee and Charter Revision Commission.

Mclaggan and Townsend did not respond to requests to comment for this story.

Begin says he will “save our town from needlessly wasting money” but did not provide specifics about where Fairfield’s current budget overspends nor about how he would allocate funds differently.

“I felt it was time I got involved with the council because of the negative direction the town was going,” Begin said. “My community page was instrumental in getting people more involved in what’s happening.”

Hekl said her campaign is focused on a number of large municipal projects, including revitalizing Mill Island Park and Fairfield’s downtown area, establishing a parks and recreation department and building new facilities for Fairfield’s emergency services.

Working in both the public and private sectors, Hekl said, gives her insight into managing the long-term projects often managed by local governments.

“Diverse perspectives are essential for effective governance,” Hekl said. ” I will bring my listening skills, open mind and level head to the council table. In this role, I will look through the lens of what is best for the community.”

Martin believes his near-lifelong residency in Fairfield gives him valuable insight into the town’s issues and goings on, adding that PFAS, transparency and fiscal responsibility should be higher on Fairfield’s list of priorities.

“There is a difficult balance to offer public services at a cost affordable to the taxpayer,” Martin wrote in an email. “I hope to portray a fair representation for those that need those services but also at a cost that doesn’t have the taxpayer choosing between heat, food or prescriptions in order to be able to pay their local taxes.”

Voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the Fairfield Community Center, 61 Water St. Absentee ballots are available until Oct. 31. Ballots can be mailed by request by calling the Town Office at 207-453-7911. A 24-hour ballot drop box is located at the Town Office, 19 Lawrence Ave.