Evan Goodkowsky (Johnathan Riley photo)
Westport Island Maine Certified Assessing Agent Evan Goodkowsky is the solo name on the ballot for the District 1 seat on the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners.
Goodkowsky, D-Wiscasset, believes his skills as an assessor and experience with regional planning can contribute and help the functions of the board.
“I feel like at this point I’ve got the right set of skills and experience,” he said. “I would be one of the few people that are (an assessor). Some counties have a board of property tax review but we don’t.”
District 1 includes Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, Southport, Westport Island, and Wiscasset. Longtime Commissioner Hamilton Meserve, R-Westport Island, announced he would not seek reelection after serving three four-year terms on the board.
The Lincoln County Commissioners oversees countywide programs and entities, including the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Lincoln County Communications Center, the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency, and the recycling plant.
The commission also oversees the administrative staff and policy for the probate court, registry of deeds, and the district court. The three-member board also has the responsibility to prepare an annual budget for the county.
A lifelong Wiscasset resident, Goodkowsky graduated from Wiscasset High School in 2009. He then attended Southern Maine Community College in Portland and earned an associate degree in electrical engineering technologies. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s in public policy from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Maine.
Goodkowsky believes the state is heading in a direction where county governments will be better able to help municipalities with regional goals.
“I’m hoping that with the county, more regional projects can be accomplished,” he said. “We’ll have the arm of the county to help staff and run the funding for towns with very thin budgets.”
In addition to being the property tax assessor agent for Westport Island, Goodkowsky is the broadband infrastructure consultant for Coastal Maine Regional Broadband, a regional partner for the Maine Connectivity Authority. Also known as the State Broadband Office of Maine, the Maine Connectivity Authority helps promote the accessibility and construction of a high-speed affordable internet service within the state.
Goodkowsky’s experience in successful regional projects is exemplified by his role in securing $6 million grant to lay broadband infrastructure in 10 towns in Lincoln County with broadband.
In his role as county commissioner, Goodkowsky said he would like to help build a better way for towns to share code enforcement officers by creating interlocal agreements.
“You’ve got some of these people that are running three or four towns at a time, but they’ve got to organize individual contracts,” he said.
Goodkowsky also believes regionalizing some emergency management services would benefit smaller Lincoln County towns.
“Some people don’t like to take regionalization all the time, but I think there’s room for that … I think there’s room for those people to collaborate but sometimes they need somebody else to bring them to the table,” he said.
When Goodkowsky isn’t working, he’s trying to be outdoors as much as possible, whether that’s hiking, hunting, fishing, or flexing his trivia knowledge in history and geography.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
