Dresden schoolteacher Dale Hinote will seek to unseat incumbent First Selectman Philip Johnston in the municipal election Tuesday, June 9.
As first selectman, Hinote would focus on communication with residents and efficiency in government.
“I would like to vastly improve communication – everything from updating and maintaining the town’s website to publicizing the activities of the selectmen and trying to get citizen input,” Hinote said.
Hinote would take a fiscally conservative approach to town government.
“I think one thing that’s on everybody’s minds is preventing large tax increases,” he said. “We have basically surrendered our school system to a regional entity and don’t have much control over our school budget, except to vote it up or down, so we’re faced with something of a challenge.”
“I would definitely look at ways to make town government more efficient,” Hinote said, although he did not cite any specific inefficiencies.
“I don’t see any vast projects in the near future so much as a bit of fine-tuning,” he said. “I would want to consult extensively with the citizens and find out what their concerns are, but I do know roads and taxes are definitely among them.”
“I think one of my strong points, odd as it may seem, is that I would not be coming in with a vast agenda,” Hinote said. “Overall, I’d like to see the town move forward cooperatively.”
“I grew up here, I have deep roots in the town, and I’d like to do something for the town,” Hinote said.
Hinote was a candidate for third selectman last year. He challenged incumbent Third Selectman Allan Moeller Sr. and lost, 137-100.
Hinote, 58, is a nearly lifelong resident of Dresden. His family has lived in Dresden since 1752 and his ancestors include Maj. Samuel Goodwin, an important figure in the early history of Dresden.
“He was the commander of Fort Shirley, inside of which (Pownalborough Courthouse) was built,” Hinote said. Goodwin “was involved in the Revolution, operated a tavern in the courthouse, and his descendants lived in the courthouse for about the next 150 years.”
Hinote attended a one-room schoolhouse in Dresden and graduated from Wiscasset High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and a master’s degree in history from the University of Pittsburgh.
He is currently working on a master’s degree in education from Arkansas State University.
He has a diverse professional background.
“I worked for the Maine Department of Human Services for several years – welfare administration – and also have been a professional fundraiser for a number of nonprofit organizations at the national level, and I was in publishing and sales,” he said.
Hinote thinks his work in the private sector and state government have prepared him to work in municipal government. He has managed upward of 60 people in previous posts, he said.
Hinote has also worked in education as an instructor at the Academy of Court Reporting, a writing consultant at Case Western Reserve University, an adjunct instructor at the Community College of Allegheny County, and a teaching fellow at the University of Pittsburgh.
More recently, he earned his certification to teach social studies in grades seven through 12. He works as a substitute teacher for Kennebec Intra-District Schools, also known as KIDS or RSU 2.
Hinote substitutes at all the middle and high schools in the district, including Hall-Dale Middle and High, Monmouth Academy, and Richmond Middle and High.
Hinote also volunteers as a docent at Pownalborough Courthouse. He sits on the Lincoln County Historical Association Board of Trustees and its Pownalborough Courthouse Stewardship Committee.
Hinote is the vice president of the Dresden Historical Society. He is a Freemason and participates in various community activities with the local Masonic lodge.
Outside work and his various civic activities, Hinote likes to read and write. “I’m currently working on a history of Dresden in the 20th century,” he said.
Dresden voters will elect municipal officers Tuesday, June 9. The polls will be open at Pownalborough Hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, see “Three run for treasurer in Dresden” in this edition.
