Three candidates are contesting two open seats on the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen. Both seats are for a three-year term.
The two vacancies were created by the retirement of Selectman Josh Pinkham and the end of the term for David Atwater who served one year after replacing Edwin Stelzer who retired in 2009.
The three candidates include incumbent David Atwater, and newcomers Ronn Orenstein, and Sam Tibbetts.
“For the first year, you sort of sit there like a deer in the headlights. Now, after a year and having gone through the budget process, I have a better handle on it,” he said. “I know what you should do and it is more than finding out what street to fix.”
Atwater, 69, who has lived in town for 10 years, has opened up a business: “The Bakery” located on the rear of the Main Street business complex overlooking the Municipal Parking lot.
He spent 35 years in the financial services/insurance/financial planning field in the Boston area when he went to cooking school. He and his wife have two grown children and four grandchildren. He is an Army veteran.
Last July, Atwater resigned as chair of the Damariscotta Planning Advisory Committee when he was elected to fill the term of Edwin Stelzer who resigned citing health reasons.
During the two years as DPAC chairman, Atwater said he learned a lot about the town and its residents.
“I love this small town, but it is changing and there is no way to prevent it,” he said.
It is the same thing he said he saw happening to his old hometown, Concord, Mass. “When we moved there 40 years ago, it was a mostly rural town. Now it is a bustling suburb.”
“Here, many folks, mainly longtime residents, don’t want change, but Damariscotta is changing. The question is how do you deal with it,” he said.
“I think the work done by DPAC and the Gateway 1 planning process (that is underway) will help us manage the change in a way we want it to happen.”
Atwater praised the work by town manager Greg Zinser, especially the way he was able to win outside grants to help fund town projects.
He said he regrets that Selectman Josh Pinkham has decided to retire from the board. “He kept us on our toes. I will miss him,” he said.
As for the future, Atwater said he would like to see the town get involved in recycling trash items. “I think we might be able to save money and being ‘green’ is an added benefit.”
Mostly, Atwater said he would like to see more citizens become involved in town affairs.
“It is their town. We need everybody involved,” he said.
Serving on the Board of Selectmen “is a way of being involved in the community. I have an open mind and am a good listener,” he said.
Orenstein, 55, has his own business, Satori Design Group, which provides photographic and design services for advertising clients. His wife Dana, works for The First in Damariscotta.
The couple and their three children moved to Maine in 2003.
“We always wanted to retire to Maine, we just moved sooner than we expected,” he said.
Orenstein, a New York City native, explained his wife was working in the New York City World Trade Center when it was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. Later, her employer moved to midtown not far from a post office that was involved in an anthrax scare.
After those events, the couple left the city. He resigned his 14-year-long job as the director of photography for Hartz Mountain Industries Inc.
Orenstein said he was asked to run for the office by Selectman Richard McLean.
The candidate earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at City College of New York.
He is a member of the Damariscotta Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Photo Shop Professionals and a former member of the Lincoln County Business Networking Group.
This is his initial attempt at public office.
Although he admits he is unfamiliar with the issues facing the Selectmen, Orenstein said he plans to listen a lot and take a look at every issue.
“Everyone joins the board as a novice, but I can be a fast learner. I believe I can balance issues and not go overboard in any direction,” he said.
A stint on the board of selectmen is another way he says he can help his new home town.
“We didn’t just throw a dart on a map. We love it here. If we didn’t like the place, we wouldn’t have moved here,” he said.
The outside machinist for Bath Iron Works lived in Damariscotta all his life and graduated from Lincoln Academy in 1971.
In addition to serving as an elected official, Tibbetts says he served on the GSB 2000 Committee, the town budget committee and the committee that drafted the town’s comprehensive plan.
“When I was 8 years old, my father dragged me to the town meeting. He believed we have a responsibility to participate in politics,” he said.
He says the biggest hurdle facing the town is taxes, taxes and more taxes.
“We have a five member council, a town manager, and a police force that keeps asking for more. I remember when we had a real working police chief and the town has not grown that much since that time,” he said.
Although he admits he does not watch the Selectmen’s meetings on Channel 7 and has attended only a few in recent years, he said he says he has looked at some of the budget and sees a great deal of expense.
For example, he says when he was a selectman, the salary was $300 a year. Currently the selectmen are paid $1000 a year.
“Something is not working. We seem to be just throwing money out and think it would cure the problem. It is not working. We have proved it,” he said.
Despite his assertions that taxes are too high, he declined to pinpoint which parts he would cut, should he be elected.
“I want to evaluate the facts, form an opinion and try to make the best decisions,” he said.
