Candidate profile
Full name: Philip Bernaiche
Age: Not listed
Residence: Houlton
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? I am a former member of Houlton Town Council, Board of Budget Review, Zoning Board of Appeals, Road Committee, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Board of Assessment.
What is your career background? I was an employee of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad for years. I also worked for a store called the Food Center on Military Street, where I repaired televisions and white goods for 17 years. I ventured on my own as Phil’s Colored T.V. Service until my retirement.
What made you decide to run for this office? I decided to run for Town Council because Houlton needs a change, not just the “good old boys” calling the shots. If we are going to have a future, we must all work together in the best interest of the town and that is not happening now.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? I could see the council considering an increase in the mil rate this year, and it could be mostly felt by our citizens on fixed incomes, our elderly, and low-income families just so the town can have more revenue. The hard times will be here on all the people this winter. The recession is not giving up and there are few jobs. It will be crucial for the town to survive this crisis and the town needs an experienced councilor.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? I would like to see a town where the people have the right to know what both hands of the government are doing. Also, the most important issues are economic and community development because both will add growth to the community and jobs that will bring a future to our people.
Why should people vote for you? I want your vote. I am honest and also experienced in town government. We must have change for the future. We must reduce unnecessary spending. I will work hard for your best interests and spend tax dollars wisely.
Candidate profile
Full name: Matthew Carr
Age: 34
Residence: Houlton
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? None.
What is your career background? I was a radiologic technologist for years. I currently am training as the manager of operations for Alliance Imaging Inc., a mobile MRI company.
What made you decide to run for this office? I would like to create a better place for our children to return to.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? Creating jobs and elderly housing and care.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? I would like to create an environment that my three children would want to return to and work in.
Why should people vote for you? I am upfront about how I feel and I can make a change through listening to others.
Candidate profile
Full name: John Fitzpatrick
Age: 71
Residence: Houlton
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? Houlton Town Councilor for six years; 2009 Houlton Chamber of Commerce’s Community Spirit Award; Southern Aroostook Development Corporation director for eight years; general manager of Coca-Cola (Presque Isle branch) for 12 years.
What is your career background? United States Air Force (1957-60); Brewer’s IGA (1960-63); Humpty Dumpty potato chips (1963-69); operated Fitz’ Beverages (1969-1972); Coca Cola Presque Isle (1972-2000); currently retired.
What made you decide to run for this office? I’m interested in the good things happening in the town of Houlton and would like to help secure some of the projects that are going on in town.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? With all of the state funding cuts, keeping our mil rate down is the biggest issue.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? To see Houlton as a community grow by adding more jobs.
Why should people vote for you? For six of the past seven years, I have worked to keep the council working together in a positive way in unity with the town manager.
Candidate profile
Full name: John White Jr.
Age: 34
Residence: Houlton
What other political offices have you held? If none, what other offices, honors or titles have you earned? I’ve never run for office before, but I filled in as interim president of the Houlton Softball Association in 2010. It was challenging and rewarding to lead an outstanding organization and have a chance to apply my leadership skills.
What is your career background? I worked for Dead River Company Food Trend for many years, starting when I was 15 years old. I know most of the town from my years working there. After leaving Food Trend, I worked for an online company in town, WorldWidePaintball.com, which was owned and operated by Clyde Warman. For a brief time, I started my own online business, SportsAttitude.com.
After my ventures in the online world, I worked four years as a delivery driver for Wolverton Seafood. I had stops in Tewksbury and Boston, Mass. as well as Hannaford’s in South Portland. Unfortunately, an ice-jam led to a shortage in trout supply and the company stopped operations. I bounced around at a few fill-in jobs while seeking further employment and worked for WHOU-FM as a board operator/statistician, Dunns Funeral Home doing burial setups, as well as Madigan Home Health Care doing data entry and some computer tech work. In July 2005, I was hired at my current employment, Linneus Corner Store. I’m currently the assistant manager of the store. I also worked for the United States Census Bureau this past spring.
What made you decide to run for this office? I decided to run for Town Council because I would like to see Houlton get younger. What I mean by that is I would like to see more high school graduates stay in town and more college graduates return to the area. I think a step in the right direction is to get people with new ideas and different opinions involved in the town. Some people who might not be afraid to think outside the box. I think I’m one of these people. I mean I got married in Las Vegas in a stretch Hummer in a drive-through wedding!
I am also running because my wife Ashley and I bought a house two years ago. We have two young children who are going to grow up in this town. I have a vested interest in the future of Houlton and I would like to be more involved in improving Houlton, Maine.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the community you will serve? I think there are several important issues facing our community. Probably the most important of those is the lack of jobs in general, but more so the lack of high paying jobs. I think this is a key reason why so many young people move away, never to return. I know this isn’t unique to our town, it’s all of northern Maine. Economic development is a term you hear often, but do we ever see any results? I believe Houlton must figure out how to attract new business.
What do you see as your primary goal, if elected? My primary goal would be to try to limit spending, while also trying to make Houlton appeal to new businesses. Yes, economic development.
Why should people vote for you? People should vote for me because I will be a true voice of the town. I will listen to the concerns of the taxpayers and address the issues and I have an open mind. If you’re looking for a “yes man,” please don’t vote for me. If you’re looking for someone who will always vote with the best interests of our town, and someone who is not afraid to speak up and speak out, vote for John White. While I was born, raised and have lived my entire life in Houlton, I have had the opportunity to travel around the country to places such as Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and many other exciting places. I love to visit, but I always love returning home. I care about the future of the town and would appreciate the opportunity to give back.
