Abden Simmons (LCN file photo)
A Waldoboro selectman is throwing his hat in the ring to represent the GOP in the upcoming election for House District 91.
Abden Simmons, elected to the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen in June 2015, has decided to vie for his party’s nomination for the seat.
House District 91 includes Friendship, part of Union, and Washington in addition to Waldoboro. Friendship independent Jeffrey Evangelos currently represents the district.
Simmons said he has no intentions of stepping down from the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen.
“I’m planning on staying on as a selectman unless it becomes overburdening,” Simmons said.
Simmons has been a member of the Waldoboro community for years, moving to town in 1993 and operating a commercial buying station for clams in Waldoboro since 1996.
A commercial fisherman with experience harvesting clams, scallops, mussels, and lobsters, he has served on the Waldoboro Shellfish Conservation Committee for the past 15 years and has been chair of the committee for roughly 10 years.
Simmons feels strongly about the commercial fishing industry and believes it needs to be addressed by the Legislature in Augusta.
“This area of the economy is huge and needs to be represented,” Simmons said.
Additionally, Simmons said he would work to tackle other issues facing state government.
“I am going to try like crazy to fix the problems our state is facing,” Simmons said.
The selectman said he is looking forward to hitting the campaign trail and meeting with the region’s voters.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there and talking to people,” Simmons said.
The Waldoboro Republican served on the town’s planning board for several years and was part of a town manager search committee.
He is also the executive director of the Maine Elver Fishermen Association, and has served on the state’s shellfish advisory council, in addition to taking part in the governor’s task force on the invasive European green crab.
Evangelos said he has not decided whether to seek re-election and has been focused on his work at the State House.
“I have been so busy in Augusta lately, I haven’t really thought about it,” Evangelos said.
Evangelos said that, as an independent candidate, he has until the end of May to decide whether to seek re-election, whereas party candidates must declare their intentions by March 15.
The Friendship independent currently sits on the judiciary, state and local, and ethics committees and has served as a state representative since 2012.
Evangelos served in House District 49 before redistricting created House District 91. Prior to his time in the Legislature, Evangelos worked as Warren’s town manager in the late 1970s and as business manager of Maine School Administrative District 40, the predecessor of Regional School Unit 40.
