Three vie for Buckfield selectman's seat

BUCKFIELD — When voters go to the polls in Buckfield on June 8, they will have three names to choose from in filling the open seat on the town's Board of Selectmen.  Joining incumbent Lawrence "Skip" Stanley on the ballot will be political newcomers Chris Hayward and Roger "Pud" Bennett.

Stanley, 34, is seeking his second term as selectman.  Born in Sanford, and raised in Durham, Stanley has been a resident of Buckfield for just over seven years.  Prior to founding his own local contracting business, Stanley Excavation, he worked for 14 years in the Auburn Department of Public Works. 

Stanley says he is hopeful of being returned to the board so that he can continue the momentum he feels the town has gained over his previous term.

"I think we accomplished a lot," he said.  "I feel really, really good about the past three years.  I've seen a lot of changes since I came in, from where it was to where it is now.  

"I remember, when I first came in, they were trying to get the new public works garage, which didn't get funded.  They were trying to pass ordinances that wouldn't pass.  It seemed like, the mood of the people, there was a lot of mistrust in the air. 

"In the past three years, we have turned that around.  Not just me, but the board as a team, and the town manager, has turned that around to gain the trust of the people and really get their confidence.  The reason we have done that is that we have held the tax increase to a minimum on the town side over the past three years, all the while achieving big, big things, like the highway garage, and a new fire truck, while still maintaining an exceptional level of road repair each summer."

Hayward, 32, is making his first run for public office.  However, he has served his community for the past seven years as a volunteer on the Buckfield Fire Department.  A resident of Buckfield for over 20 years - since he was 13 - he owns and runs his own local contracting business, Hayward Excavating & Trucking.

"A few people asked me to run," Hayward said of his decision to seek office.  His supporters reportedly include "a couple of friends of mine who have been selectmen before.  People who thought I'd be good at it, I guess." 

Hayward's main goal as selectman will be to maintain a hard fiscal line.

"This town hasn't got a ton of money, I think sometimes money is wasted," he said.  "As far as money goes, I am a die-hard conservative." 

Bennett, 58, a Viet Nam era veteran who has worked locally as a farmhand and truck driver, states that he is currently retired.  Like Hayward, Bennett is making his first attempt to gain public office.

Bennett reports that, while he had no problem eventually obtaining enough signatures to get his name on the ballot, some people did decline to sign their names.  Bennett alleges being told by there people that they feared a backlash from town officials should their support for his candidacy be made public.

"Everybody, up and down Depot Street, High Street, everywhere I went, Jesus Christ almighty, they didn't want to sign their names to that petition," he said.  "But they all said that when it comes to voting time they'd vote for me quicker than heck. 

"They didn't want to get their names on the black list."

Bennett understands that his candidacy is a long shot, however he sees his role as a reformer.  As such, he is willing to agitate for change.

"They've got a lot of problems, I think," he said.  "I want to see if I can get in there and see what the hell's going on with the system and the whole works there.  I think it's completely god**mn shot to hell."

One of the first challenges that will face any new Buckfield selectman will be the need to replace Town Manager Cynthia M. Dunn, who recently tendered her resignation.  Dunn has voiced a desire to stay on aas Town Clerk should voters elect to create and fund a third town office position.  Currently, Buckfield's administrative needs are filled the Town Manager and one office assistant. 

Both Stanley and Hayward support the administrative changes, while Bennett is more truculent.

"No, I think it was better off the way it was," Bennett admonished.  "Before there was only one there.  They used to be able to handle it. I don't know why they have to have so many positions now."

"I am sad to see Cindy go," said Hayward.  "She's been an asset to this town.  As far as I can see, we should definitely still have her there.

"I've talked to several people, and anytime you go to that office she's there usually, and when she not it's because she's off doing town business.  I've been by nine, ten o'clock at night, coming back from a fire or something, and she's still there.  I think they [selectmen] should have done something a long time ago.  I've always said that.  She has way too much on here plate and always has."

Stanley states that the need to recruit a new Town Manager is one of his primary motivations for seeking re-election.

"There a few things left undone that I'd like to see completed," Stanley said.  "Town Manager, I want to help that process along, to see that we get a qualified individual that wants the same thing that the townspeople want, and wants to head this town in a proactive, positive direction

"I think it's needed, I said that my first year in.  The town manager was overloaded then, and every year that goes by she's been increasingly overloaded.  And each year that the town grows, there are more needs.  It's just too much for one person."

Growth in the town, with increasing subdivision development in recent years, is also a front burner issue for the candidates.

"That is a good thing as long as it is a positive thing," said Stanley.  "I'd like to see business come into town to help the tax base, to take some of the burden off of the property owners and put some onto the business owners. 

"We still want to keep it the rural Buckfield that it is, but yet promote business is what I'm looking for.

"That new highway garage was a step in the right direction," continued Stanley.  "We've got to start in our village, clean up our image.  Get a good infrastructure.  We need some zoning. We need some ordinances.  Business don't want to come into town if it's not an attractive area to be.  I think we have to take a hard look at ourselves, get ourselves where we need to be, and then business will come by itself."

Hayward expressed similar views regarding development.

"I'd rather see a subdivision with nice houses, something that is going to bring a little more money into this town, rather than some just thrown in trailer park. 

"This is a hard place to start a business," he said, "but I would love to attract some business into this town.  As far as big business, there are not a lot of nice places to develop but I definitely feel we need it."

Hayward acknowledged that he would need some time to once elected to "learn the ropes" and acclimate himself to the new position before he could give and concrete examples on exactly how business could be attracted to the community.  However, he did state that funding a third office position for a town clerk would help in this regard as it would both shorten his learning curve and allow the incoming town manager enough free time to concentrate on seeking grants and managing development.

"This town isn't big enough to grow too much more," said Bennett, "because there ain't going to be no room to put in any more buildings, or much else.  This was farming community, and they want to make it into a big city.  But they can't do that without messing up the environment a hell of a lot more than they already did.   

Bennett believes that there may be room in Buckfield for smaller businesses.

"What they could bring into town yes, but they don't have much room to put up a building," he said.  "There ain't no big kind of business that could operate in here I would think."

Bennett also expressed sympathy for local farmers, once the lifeblood on Buckfield's rural economy.

"They couldn't make it, the government has screwed them over too many times," he said.

While Stanley expressed support for those few working farms that remain, his vision for Buckfield looks towards the future, rather than the past.

"I think that the town needs to do what it can to protect the ones we have," he said, "but I'd really like to see newer businesses come into town."