Bremen will fill a vacant seat on the town’s board of selectmen during the Nov. 2 election.
Steve Page, a former planning board member for the town, is running unopposed for the seat left vacant by the July 1 resignation of long-time selectman Hank Nevins.
If elected, Page will serve the remainder of Nevins’ term which was slated to end in June 2022.
Page retired to Bremen eight years ago and said he’s enjoyed getting to know more residents through his candidacy.
He moved to the Midcoast in 1974 and has lived in several towns in the area, including Washington, Rockport, and Searsmont.
Page, who owned a farm and landscaping business in Washington, said, “I pretty much farmed all my life and did other jobs to support my farming habit.”
Page has a degree in environmental sciences from the University of Maine, and after a stint with the Department of Environmental Protection, he worked as the compliance officer for the Duck Trap River Fish Farm and worked his way up to CEO of Atlantic Salmon of Maine.
When Atlantic Salmon of Maine was sold, he started another aquaculture business, Ocean Farm Technologies, building high-tech containment systems for open ocean aquaculture.
While following a career path in aquaculture, Page did not lose sight of the more traditional farming he loved.
In 1995, he was the founding president of the Maine Farmland Trust, a statewide organization that, according to its website, “protects farmland, supports farmers, and advances the future of farming.”
“Bremen does have some good farmland,” Page said. “I was delighted to see the Thirty Acre Farm project.”
In 2019, that property was placed in an agricultural conservation easement through the Maine Farmland Trust to protect its fields and woodlands.
Page is a strong believer in public service and “giving back to the town I live in.” He served on the fire department in both Washington and Rockport, was a member of the planning board in Rockport, and then chair of the Searsmont Planning Board for 11 years.
“For me it’s a great way to get to know people in town.”
Page was convinced to run for Nevins’ seat by Wendy Pieh, chair of the board of selectmen. “I’m coming into this totally open-minded. Everybody I’ve talked to has a very high opinion of how the town’s being run right now and I say steady as she goes,” he said.
“I’m going to listen to as many people as I can, and if I can help with decisions, I’d love to,” he added.
Page will be on the ballot again next year if he believes he can continue to help the town. But in the interim said, “I’m going to spend a lot of time asking people in town why people who’ve lived here a lot longer than I aren’t stepping up.”
