Five Candidates Seek Three Wiscasset Select Board Seats 

Five candidates are running for three three-year terms on the Wiscasset Select Board this year. Incumbents William Maloney and board Chair Sarah Whitfield and Clifford Hendricks, Heather Jones, and Cassaundra Rose will all appear on the ballot when residents elect municipal officers on Tuesday, June 9.

The Wiscasset School Committee is also contested, as the district’s former maintenance and transportation director John Merry and Wiscasset Partners in Education Secretary Danielle Clarke are vying for a three-year term. (See related article in this edition.)

There are two three-year terms on the Wiscasset Water District up for election. No one submitted nomination papers to run for the seats.

Polls will be open for the election of municipal officers and the annual town meeting by referendum from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 at the Wiscasset Community Center, at 242 Gardiner Road. For more information, call 882-8200 or go to wiscasset.gov.

Clifford Hendricks

After retiring from the U.S. Navy, Hendricks moved to Wiscasset in 2002. He made the decision to run because he wants to help minimize rising taxes in Wiscasset. He said he knows it is impossible to completely lower taxes, but he would like to make the effort to reduce increases.

Hendricks said he understands a flat rate is not going to happen because of inflation and the cost of living. What Wiscasset is currently doing with its money is adequate for a town of its size. If elected, he said he would like to continue that work and make sure there are not any major spikes in taxes.

“They do a pretty bang-up job,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks said another reason why he wants to run is he wants to be involved in the decision-making process regarding town matters. He said his willingness to throw his “two cents in” is what makes him a good candidate for the board.

“I’ve never been in charge of a Fortune 500 company or anything like that, but I have a willingness to be involved,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks served on the Wiscasset Budget Committee for four years and was a volunteer member of the Wiscasset Fire Department. If elected, he said he would like to continue to be “judicious and financially responsible with that taxpayer money” and bring more board discussions to the public.

Other than limiting tax increase, Hendricks said he would like introduce more affordable housing options in Wiscasset and would also like to increase the town’s climate resiliency.

If elected, Hendricks said he would do his best to listen and learn from different perspectives. While it might be hard to represent absolutely everyone in Wiscasset, he said he can at least be willing to listen, even if they have differing opinions.

After taking everyone’s perspectives into consideration, Hendricks believes in the importance of making a decision and going for it.

“I believe if you can represent the majority and protect the rights of the minority, that’s how I would do it,” Hendricks said.

Now retired, Hendricks said he enjoys kayaking with his wife and daughter. He said the trio has gone all along the coast and even inland on their kayaking trips.

William Maloney

Maloney said one of the biggest things he wants to do if elected for a third term on the select board is promote economic development within Wiscasset while also not taking away the charm of the small town. This can be done through attracting new businesses and homes so property taxes can be decreased, he said.

With the attraction of new business, Maloney also wants to increase the town’s retention of young people. He said he would like to find ways to better support the unemployed and underemployed.

Another issue Maloney wants to see settled is the relocation of the wastewater treatment plant, which will be on the ballot for voters this year.

In 2024, residents approved the relocation of town’s wastewater treatment plant to the public works site on Hodge Street with a vote of vote of 1,416-832. A new public works site and salt shed would be built on a parcel of land near the transfer station on Fowle Hill Road.

Since the measure passed, some residents have pushed back against the move, believing the relocation will cause a disruption to the area.

The question appearing on the June 9 ballot will read, “Shall the Town rescind the action taken under Article 3 at the November 5, 2024 town meeting, thereby removing authority for relocation of the wastewater treatment facility, public works garage, and salt/sand shed.”

Maloney said he originally wanted the treatment center to stay where it is, but now seeing that is not an option, he is in favor of the relocation. If voters do not approve of plant’s relocation to the proposed area, it would have to be moved even further, which would cost the town more, he said.

When talking about the proposed new location for the treatment plant, Maloney said he had visited a similar facility in Oxford. During the trip, he did not observe any odors inside or outside the facility. The superintendent of that facility told Maloney the only emission from the plant is when it loses power and there is a need for generators.

Another matter Maloney mentioned was the AI data center proposed for the 300 acres located off Old Ferry Road and Birch Point Road. He said an investor is considering the $10 million investment to build the facility and if given the green light could lower property taxes.

“I conditionally support the initiative, provided the facility supplies its own electrical power, separate from residential power, to avoid affecting residential rates,” Maloney said. “I also emphasize the need to prevent noise and other issues associated with current AI facilities.”

In addition to his time on the select board, Maloney has been the chair of the Police Pension Fund, Human Rights Commissioner, and Plan Commissioner in Wheeling, Ill. He is a former member of the finance committee for the All Saint’s Parish and member of the Bishop’s Pastoral Council. He has also served as chair of the downtown project and was on the budget committee.

Maloney is actively involved with organizations such as the Wiscasset Rod and Gun Club, where he serves as treasurer. He is a member of the Wiscasset Yacht Club and financial secretary of the Knights of Columbus in Newcastle.

In his free time, Maloney enjoys mowing his lawn and working on home renovations.

Cassaundra Rose 

Rose is running for the select board on a platform focused on improving Wiscasset’s resilience.

Her plan includes four focus areas: building more abundant housing, creating a vibrant economy and community, preparing for extreme weather and climate change, and making sure the town government leads by example.

Rose is an earth scientist and has worked in public policy for the last decade. She has been a Wiscasset resident for over six years and has been the chair of the town’s climate action committee for three. She said right now felt like the right time to step up and serve her community.

“I really felt that I could bring my experience and expertise and enthusiasm for identifying effective government solutions or policy solutions to try and tackle these uses and a lot of other issues,” Rose said.

With her background in science, Rose loves diving into complex data and information, her training allowing her to learn how to not only effectively research but how to also work on a plan of action toward answering a question.

Rose hopes she can take her experience to better the communication from town officials to the public so it can use feedback in policy making. In doing so, Wiscasset can get help with improving town engagement and decisions, she said.

If elected, Rose wants to work on creating more affordable housing options. She said with community growth that would come from more housing, Wiscasset’s local economy would expand. She said many local businesses have been struggling to find employees because employees cannot find housing they can afford, even with well-paying jobs.

Addressing housing issues will also help with declining school enrollment, she said.

“I think unlocking that will help grow a more vibrant local economy, but also by growing our community and making this a place where people can stay and want to be able to move to Wiscasset,” Rose said.

Rose would like to comprehensively plan and prepare the community and operations for “increasingly frequent and severe weather impacts.” When it comes to severe weather and its consequences, Rose said there is often a “hidden tax” with extra costs for unplanned events like culvert damage due to flooding or other issues related to drought.

So the town can lead by example, Rose wants to make improvements to operations to lower spending on energy costs, getting critical infrastructure out of harm’s way, and overall, just planning for the future, she said.

“That would be switching to renewable energy, which is less volatile and less costly, making efficiency improvements, so that we aren’t wasting money by having leaking buildings, and then moving or preparing our infrastructure, like our wastewater treatment plant, but also culverts and other infrastructure, to make sure they are ready for the increasing impacts of sea level rise and climate change,” Rose said.

Rose has a background in science and public policy. Other than her professional career and time as the chair for the town’s climate action team, she has also helped secure over $125,000 in grants for Wiscasset and co-led the Wiscasset Water Front Resilience Project, which assessed the town’s waterfront to make sure it “remains a vital community asset.”

Public service is one of Rose’s core values, she said. She also worked at the state level with Gov. Janet Mills to coordinate the creation of the 2020 state climate action plan, which allowed her to learn more from experts around the state as well as meeting many citizens to hear input on resiliency in the face of climate change.

In her free time, Rose said she enjoys gardening and crafting, especially with yarn.

Heather Jones

Former select board member Heather Jones is seeking election with the goal of lowering taxes. She was unseated after her first term in 2023.

“My main objective during the first term was just to learn what the town needed and wanted,” Jones said.

During her time on the board, Jones worked with other members to get the budget “in to shape” and as low as possible, she said. After being unseated, she noticed taxes started to increase.

“I wasn’t happy about that; I wanted that accomplishment to stay,” Jones said.

If elected, Jones’ goal would be to reduce the budget by 5%, which would be applied to all cost centers with the exception of the fire department budget. She said she would like to introduce a policy preventing taxes from being raised more than a certain amount every year.

Jones said another big area of focus is the situation with the proposed AI data center. Despite no official plan coming forward, some Wiscasset residents are against the proposed center. If the majority of residents are against it, then the board should listen, Jones said.

“I think out government has gotten sort of in the habit of deciding what the town needs, and the pursuing that, rather than getting what the town wants, which is definitely the case with this data center,” Jones said.

Jones would like to help inform the town more about the relocation of the wastewater treatment plant. She said the proposed new location would not create an “environmental nuisance” and will not have a bad odor.

More transparency in the government would also mean more time to speak during meetings, Jones said. In the past, she has noticed instances where residents and even board members were “prevented from speaking,” she said, something she would like to change that.

“I think people sometimes get frustrated, and then they stop trying, and so I want to resurrect that process and let people know that they absolutely welcome and invited to come and speak and say what they have to say,” Jones said.

With her previous experience on the board, Jones knows how the town works and she is a good person to step into the role, she said. After a career working as a behavior analyst, Jones said she is a good problem solver who knows how to take individual approaches to different situations.

“I don’t shy away from an idea that I don’t necessarily agree with,” Jones said. “I try to understand where that idea comes from, and why someone might hold that idea because there’s often value in that.”

Jones was in the Navy for six years. She said she volunteered to take over the program for members facing disciplinary action and used her background in behavioral analysis to develop an approach where repeat offenders, who she said were usually young, would stop getting in to trouble.

In her free time, Jones said she enjoys writing. She recently founded a literary journal, Canopy Literary Review.

Sarah Whitfield

After serving two terms and acting as the board’s chair, Whitfield is running for reelection so she can finish the work currently in progress.

Since joining the Wiscasset Select Board six years ago, Whitfield said she thinks great things have been done and she wants to see that good work continue. She has a deep passion for the town and wants to set an example of being a town official who is calm and kind to people.

Whitfield said one issue she would like to work on is the discussions around the relocation of the wastewater treatment plant. She said she is trying to come up with creative ways to fund the portion the town is responsible for.

Whitfield also wants to see the town’s comprehensive plan through to completion, as well as an economic development plan that is set to go to the public for feedback soon.

“We need to make some big decisions, and I really want to be part of that and leading is into the next decade or two,” Whitfield said.

Whitfield said she is proud of the fact that in the past five years, the board has kept the average tax increase to 2.8%.

“While I know we’d always love taxes to be lower and lower, given inflation and the services we provide, I think we’ve done a great job keeping costs down and always keeping in mind the taxpayer,” she said.

Whitfield said she would also like to work on improving the way the town releases information so the public can have more involvement. The revamp of the town website was a huge accomplishment, she said, and she would like to continue toward more transparency.

“Finding other ways where we can make sure that we hear from everyone, because you know we have some wonderful people who are always engage and we want to keep them engage, but there are a lot of folks that we don’t hear from, and we need to include them in some of these really big decisions moving forward,” Whitfield said.

The nonpartisan nature of the select board is something Whitfield likes. She said when someone is elected to the board, they are meant to represent everyone, not just those who voted for them. When she makes decisions, Whitfield wants to hear all sides of an issue and her opinion can always be changed if given enough information.

“I feel like that’s something I’ve done as chair in terms of making sure that people can make their voice hear and ask their questions and get their opinions out there, because I’m very much a person who wants to hear what the public wants before we make a decision on anything,” Whitfield said.

In addition to her time on the select board, Whitefield said her background in public policy has equipped her with necessary skills, such as analyzing proposals, research, communication, and relationship building. She is currently the director of annual giving and alumni engagement at the University of Maine School of Law.

Whitfield also served on the Wiscasset School Committee from 2005-2009 and is currently the chair of the comprehensive plan committee. She is a co-founder of Wiscasset Wormfest, another point of pride, she said. She is also on the road to getting ordained next year after completing her studies with the Maine School of Ministry.

When she is not serving on the board or working, Whitfield said she enjoys listening to live music with her partner and traveling.