Council, SAD 29 hopefuls face off

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Candidates for the Houlton Town Council and SAD 29 School Board were under the microscope last Wednesday for the annual Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce “Candidates Forum” night.
    Candidates Terry Spurling, Fred Grant, Darryl “Scott” White and Carl Lord Jr. are looking to fill two available seats on the SAD 29 school board. Kim Thompson and Frances Grant currently hold the seats, but neither is seeking re-election. Fred Grant is currently serving on the Houlton Town Council, but has stated he will relinquish that seat if he is successful in his school board bid.
    For the Houlton Town Council, two seats are up for grabs. Incumbent John Fitzpatrick and challengers Philip Bernaiche and John White squared off in the candidate’s forum. Matthew Carr, who is also running for the council did not attend the debates. Paul Romanelli is unable to seek re-election due to term limits.
    Each candidate was allotted three minutes for opening remarks and was then asked the same 10 questions, with two minutes to answer the question. A final two minutes was allotted for closing comments.
    Kent Good served as moderator for the evening, posing questions to the candidates. Residents were able to submit questions via e-mail or telephone in advance or the night of the forum.
    Grant, who is currently in his second year as a member of the Houlton Town Council, stated he felt his services would be better suited on the school board, since education is both his passion and profession. Grant has stated he would step down from the council if elected to the school board.
    “The school board sets the tone for the entire district,” Grant said. “I think it’s a responsibility of the school board to help the district identify what our needs are and then be able to provide the resources necessary to the teachers so they can reach out to the students. The board has to support the work teachers do in the classroom.”
    Spurling, a retired teacher with 36 years of classroom experience, said he considered running last year but was concerned he would not be allowed to since his daughter is a teacher in the district and his son-in-law is the principal. Spurling said he was assured there would not be a conflict of interest with him running for school board.
    “I’ve seen the system from the standpoint of a teacher, an administrator and also as a citizen of the town,” he said. “We have a wonderful school system here. Our facilities are top-notch and we have been blessed with good administration and teacher, but we can always get better.”
    Lord said he wished to help lift the “black cloud” that he perceives to be hanging over the school board, particularly when it comes to communicating with the public. He also stressed a desire to cut spending, without a negative impact on the students.
    White said he felt he would make a fair and impartial member of the school board.
    “I’m a pretty good judge of character and situations and quite frankly I think that is all that is needed to be on any board,” he said.
    Questions for the town council candidates focused more on economic development issues, particularly the downtown area and balancing a budget that deals with increased costs for services without negatively impacting the town’s mil rate.
    “The only way that I know to keep costs down and not affect the mil rate is to not say ‘yes’ to everything and buy everything you see,” Bernaiche said. “We will have to change our ways in Houlton. We’re spending too much money.”
    Incumbent Fitzpatrick said he would rely on the expertise of the town manager to present a budget in good faith.
    “We have been very fortunate over the years,” Fitzpatrick said. “For towns with populations from 5,000-10,000, Houlton is the second lowest in terms of tax increases.”
    White said he would need to take a close look at what essential services the town offers and how much those services cost.
    “As costs go up, we might have to start making some cuts,” he said. “As a taxpayer, I don’t want to see our taxes go up.”
    Editor’s note: Many of the questions posed during the Candidates Forum were also asked to each candidate by The Houlton Pioneer Times in its candidate profiles. The SAD 29 profiles appeared in last week’s paper, while the Town Council profiles appear in this week’s issue.