Heather Donahue, known for her lead role in hit movie “The Blair Witch Project,” is running for the seat she was removed from last year in Freedom.

Donahue will face Kory Boulier and Matt Grotton Jr., all vying for a three-year term. The election will take place Friday, March 13.

It’s a fitting date for her haunting role in the 1999 found footage horror film, one of many stints before Donahue settled in Freedom four years ago to “hermit.” She was ousted from her Select Board seat in April 2025, with voters arguing she had overstepped her municipal duty amid an ongoing lawsuit against the town. It made national headlines.

“I would like the lies and personal attacks to stop,” Donahue said in an interview Wednesday. “But that might not happen. And I guess that’s the reason I kind of threw my hat back in the ring, because if anything, those folks have made my stomach stronger.”

She says she’s running to protect public access, champion local decision-making and encourage compliance with a state tax program that supports tree growth. The goal is to lead a town that isn’t just “responding to crisis,” she said, but looking ahead.

Boulier, who lives downtown and works as a warehouse manager at Easterly Wine in Belfast, said he wants to clarify Freedom’s rules around discontinued roads, including the one that several landowners are suing the town over. He also wants there to be more family-friendly events in town.

Grotton, 27, an employee of Bath Iron Works, is running to make the town more friendly to new businesses. He tried to start a small car dealership at the end of his driveway in October, but said it was shut down by the town’s code enforcement officer.

An “average guy” running for government, Grotton also hopes to cool the temperature on town politics.