AUGUSTA, Maine — Two Aroostook county officials will join the Maine Municipal Association’s executive committee at the start of the new year.
Easton Town Manager James Gardner will become vice president, while Mars Hill Town Manager Dave Cyr will serve on the executive committee.
Christine Landes, city manager in Gardiner, will be president, and Ivan McPike of Hampden will join the executive committee.
Landes will take over her duties of MMA president effective Jan. 1, 2020, leading the 12-member committee that steers MMA on operational and budgeting priorities.
Landes was first appointed to the MMA Executive Committee in 2016.
She became the city manager in Gardiner in August 2018, having previously served as Bethel’s town manager from 2014-2018. She previously was a deputy city clerk in Brewer, deputy town clerk in Veazie, deputy tax collector in Orange Park, Fla. and town clerk in Warren.
Landes holds a Master’s of Business Administration degree from Southern New Hampshire University. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Maine at Augusta.
Upon her swearing in at the recent MMA Convention, Landes said that her first priority as president will be to make sure that MMA continues to offer superior services to municipal officials in Maine, and to add to them when possible.
Gardner has led the Town of Easton in Aroostook County for nine years. He previously managed the towns of Ashland and Washburn, totaling 21 years of front-line, municipal management experience.
He is a graduate of Presque Isle High School who attended Ricker College, Unity College and earned an associate’s degree in business management from Northern Maine Vocational and Technical Institute.
He is a certified Maine code enforcement officer, who also worked for 11 years at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. Gardner is a veteran of the Vietnam War.
As vice president, he will chair MMA’s Legislative Policy Committee, a 70-member group that guides MMA staff on legislative priorities and issues. Gardner is scheduled to begin as MMA president on Jan. 1, 2021.
Cyr has led Mars Hill for the past five years, and previously served three terms as an elected selectman in the Town of Woodland.
He has extensive experience in the area of public works (Town of Fort Kent; Aroostook County) and the engineering field.
He graduated from the University of Maine, with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology, in 1982.
McPike has been a high-profile small business owner in the Bangor area for many years, including stints as president of the Greater Bangor Chamber of Commerce and president of the Downtown Bangor Association. He joined the Hampden Town Council five years ago.
He is a graduate of Hampden Academy and the University of Maine, where he majored in accounting. He also served on the school committee of RSU 22 for seven years.
