SKOWHEGAN — A downtown business owner and a former town and county official are facing off in June’s election for a seat on the Skowhegan select board.

Matthew P. DuBois and Newell P. Graf Jr. are the only two candidates on the ballot for the one seat on the five-member board that is up for election this year. The position comes with a three-year term.

The winner of the race will replace board Chair Whitney Cunliffe, who is not running for reelection. 

Town records show Cunliffe took out nomination papers but ultimately did not return them to qualify for the ballot. Cunliffe had won his seat overwhelmingly in a four-way race in the February 2025 special election called to fill a vacancy.

DuBois, 38, is a certified pastry chef and certified master floral designer who co-owns The Bankery & Skowhegan Fleuriste at 87 Water St. 

DuBois, who has lived in town for 19 years, also chairs the board of directors of the economic revitalization nonprofit Main Street Skowhegan and serves on the board of the quasi-governmental Skowhegan Economic Development Corp.

If elected, DuBois said his goals would be to support responsible and transparent planning and finances, promote open communication and meaningful conversations and recruit a new town manager and other staff. 

“I am deeply committed to fostering a prosperous, respectful, and vibrant Skowhegan by supporting local growth, encouraging civic engagement, and helping build a strong, inclusive community that current residents are proud of and future generations will be proud to call home,” DuBois wrote in response to a questionnaire as part of this year’s Maine Trust for Local News voter guide.

Graf, 70, is a retired construction superintendent. A Skowhegan resident since he was 9 years old, Graf was a Skowhegan selectman from 2008-14 and served on the Somerset County Budget Committee for two of those years. 

He then was elected as Somerset County commissioner for the following eight years, seven of which he chaired the board of commissioners. He is currently the president of the board of directors of the Somerset Humane Society in Skowhegan.

If elected, Graf said his goals would be to be accountable to taxpayers, plan finances long-term to minimize tax increase and provide affordable services.

“I have always been civic minded,” Graf wrote in his questionnaire responses. “I made a positive difference in the years I held office and I’m going to take a close look at town operations to see if we are running at maximum efficiency.”

Polls on June 9 are scheduled to be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Skowhegan Municipal Building, 225 Water St. Absentee voting is also available upon request at the town clerk’s office, which can reached at 207-474-6902. 

Skowhegan voters will also elect four representatives on the Maine School Administrative District 54 board of directors, all with three-year terms. Five candidates will appear on the ballot in that race: Tanya Groce, Karyn J. Curran, Margaret A. Lovejoy, Samantha D. Delorie and Cynthia A. Kirk.

All other municipal offices on the ballot — one seat on the board of assessors, one Coburn Park commissioner and one overseer of the poor — are either uncontested or have no nominated candidates.