FAIRFIELD — Residents will have three candidates to choose from on Nov. 8 to fill two seats on the Town Council: Peter Lawrence, Lawrence MacDonald and incumbent Stephanie Thibodeau.
The three are competing in one race and the two candidates with the most votes will win the seats for three-year terms.
Peter Lawrence served three years on the council until he was unseated in last year’s election, coming just 19 votes behind John Picchiotti.
Peter Lawrence Courtesy photo
A veteran service representative with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Lawrence said in an email that he felt he was just getting started during his last term on the council, and wants to continue work on finding solutions to PFAS contamination and holding municipal leaders and others accountable.
He said he understands the complaints from residents about confrontations with a small group of juveniles in town who have been disruptive and discourteous. Lawrence said his experience in the Maine Army National Guard, in the federal government and in the human resources field means he can bring a lot of knowledge to the town.
“If elected, I will do my best to serve the residents of Fairfield and to hold others accountable,” Lawrence said.
MacDonald is new to local government but as the owner of a used car dealership and repair facility in town, he said he has a responsibility to give back to the community.
He said his experience as a business owner will benefit the council and that he thinks there is a disconnect between residents and their representatives at every level of government, so people are left feeling frustrated and unheard. MacDonald said he wants to work to bridge that gap.
Lawrence MacDonald Courtesy photo
He said there are many issues in town that will need to be addressed in the coming years, including PFAS contamination, and he hopes to bring a fresh perspective to those deliberations. He said that PFAS contamination is a state and national issue, and not something the town can or should use local taxes to address.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are also known as “forever chemicals” since some do not degrade naturally and are believed capable of lingering indefinitely in the environment.
“There’s people that have been on the council before, one candidate is currently on the council, and what I’m telling people is, ‘We tried it their way and all we got was taxes that are too high and water we can’t drink,’ so maybe it’s time for a different perspective,” MacDonald said.
Thibodeau has served on the council on and off for several years. A retired schoolteacher and third generation Fairfield resident, she said she is running for reelection because she cares about the future of the town, especially when it comes to economic development.
She wants to upgrade Mill Island Park and the town’s waterfront to develop more recreational opportunities. As chair of the economic and community development advisory committee, she has worked toward creating a waterfront plan.
“We’ve got such strong economic potential within our town,” Thibodeau said. “And I really think that we can make good with what we have and be better than what we are today. It takes initiative and it takes understanding, and it takes cooperation.”
Stephanie Thibodeau Courtesy photo
She said she cares deeply about the PFAS contamination in town, but said that state statute says that the town, as a municipal entity, can only spend taxpayer money on projects that benefit the general public, so assistance for private properties affected by the contamination would not meet that standard.
Thibodeau said the proposed expansion of Kennebec Water District lines to reach homes affected by the contamination is a “moot point” because residents voted down a nonbinding referendum on the project.
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