SCARBOROUGH — In Scarborough, the race to replace Town Councilor
Michael Wood, who is retiring one year into his three-year term due to job
conflicts, presents voters with a study in contrast at one end of the political
spectrum.
Local races are non-partisan, of course. Still, it’s no
secret that candidates Ron Ahlquist and Kerry Corthell are left-leaning.
Corthell has worked on a number of liberal campaigns, including Equality Maine, while Ahlquist served
as a driver to Congressman Mike Michaud during his re-election tours.
Beyond that, however, distinctions draw into focus.
Ahlquist, a lifelong Scarborough resident who says he could never afford to
finish college, works as a ranger in Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach State
Park. He presents himself as a “just an average guy with a little common
sense.”
By contrast, Corthell’s education reaches to the graduate
level, while her work history includes many years as an executive in Ohio’s
financial industry. Since moving to Maine three years ago, she has taken on a
job as development coordinator at Spurwink, a Portland provider of mental
health services. She finished third in a three-way race for Town Council last
year, but has served the town on a number of boards and committees.
Interestingly, both candidates purposefully chose the
shortest-termed council seat of the four up for grabs. Ahlquist, an incumbent
who has twice before been elected to fill out unexpired terms, accounting for
two of his eight years on the council, said he wanted to leave the longer seat
to a newcomer. Given the steep learning curve presented to new councilors,
Ahlquist said he wanted to run for Wood’s seat in order to give someone else
more time to develop. “I just don’t know how anyone can get up to speed on
everything in just two years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Corthell, who took out papers for both three-
and two-year terms, turned in her papers for the short seat when it became
apparent that Ahlquist was the only person pursuing Wood’s chair.
“It’s just my feeling that people should always have a
choice,” she said. “Nobody should run unopposed.”
The questions below were presented to all candidates at a
debate held Oct. 13. The event was sponsored by the Scarborough Community
Chamber and moderated by member Kevin Freeman. Corthell attended the event and
answered the questions at that time. Ahlquist, who was away on a hunting trip,
gave his responses in a telephone interview Monday evening.
CONDUCTING
BUSINESS
Asked to cite goals for the next three years, if elected,
Ahlquist said he hopes to transition from his tenure on the council’s Finance
Committee to the Ordinance Committee, with an eye to freeing incoming
businesses from burdensome regulation.
“I’d like to see what ordinances we can peel back that
are no longer needed,” he said. “It seems like some councilors love to create
ordinances, but I’d look at what’s not needed, particularly in the fee
structure, and see what we can eliminate to encourage business investment in
town.”
Corthell said her primary goal is less about any one
issue than the decision-making process, in general.
“One of the reasons I’m running is to try and facilitate
a process of being more transparent in how decisions are made,” she said. “It
needs to be clear who’s going to benefit and who’s going to be negatively
impacted, in whatever way, so the public understands what’s really going on.”
Candidates were asked to define what “good government”
means to them, in terms of what local government should and should not do.
Calling herself a “fiscal conservative,” Corthell spoke
of the “fiduciary duty” town officials have. “There are a lot of people who
want you to pay for things in the short term without necessarily taking a
long-term view,” she said.
Ahlquist echoed Corthell’s comments, saying councilors
need to “get the most bang for the buck,” providing services “as efficiently as
possible” while “not micromanaging” town employees. “We hire a town manager to
run this town and we expect him to do that a certain way, with our direction,”
he said. “As long as he does that, it’s a hands-off approach.”
HIGGINS
BEACH
The candidates were not asked to weigh in on how parking
regulations should change at the beachside community. A special council meeting
on the subject is slated for Oct. 26. Instead, they were asked to say how much
weight they give to resident concerns when making decisions that affect a
particular neighborhood.
Ahlquist, referring to the long-standing issues at
Higgins Beach, said any council decision there will “always have to be
tweaked.” Beyond that, he argued the question both ways, saying, “Certainly
neighbors who live there have certain rights. I do look at the neighbors and
their concerns, but I also look at the bigger picture, so to speak.”
Corthell was less circumspect. “No, I would not give the
residents of a particular area more weight. I will not decide that their
opinions are more important, or more true,” she said. “I am really committed to
making balanced decisions.”
NEW
WENTWORTH
Both candidates
said they will vote for the $39.1 million bond to build a new intermediate
school.
“All you have to do is take a tour of that school to see
that it needs to be gone and something new put in its place,” said Corthell.
“We have been throwing money down the drain with band aids on that school. I’d
much rather use that money to pay for bonds to do new construction.”
“Its time has come,” agreed Ahlquist. “I do understand
the concerns of people who have issues with the project, but for me, with the
interest rates the way they are, this is the time. We need to do it.”
SCARBOROUGH
DOWNS
Both candidates said they will vote yes on Question 2,
authorizing the slots machine and horse racing track in Biddeford. Asked what
should be built on the site of Scarborough Downs, should the referendum
question pass and the track relocates, Ahlquist declined to name a pet project.
“I support new businesses coming into Maine and that
would be an awesome space,” he said. “But, I don’t think it matters what I
think personally about what goes there. I don’t have a vote on that. It’s going
to be up to the owners and what their vision is.”
Corthell, however, had a clear idea for the site.
“I would love to see a diverse, multigenerational,
cluster-housing, commercial/residential, park and open space village over there
– something that’s bikable and walkable, with affordable housing for
seniors and young families,” said Corthell. “I have this vision. I could
probably design the whole thing.”
BUDGET
PRIORITIES
Given declining subsidies and revenue sharing from the
state, candidates were asked how they would prioritize local budget needs.
Neither candidate took the bait to put a particular
program on the chopping block. Instead, Ahlquist fell back on his finance
committee experience, claiming the town has, over the past several years, held
annual spending hikes “to the rate of inflation, or lower.” He also said
councilors have, within the last year, taken a greater role early in the
negotiating process for labor contracts.
“We’ve spent a lot of time, energy and effort to find
savings,” he said. “We’re always looking to tweak and get a better bang for the
buck. I think, personally, for the very difficult times that we are in, we’ve
done a good job to hold the budget and stay in a good, strong position.”
Corthell, on the other hand, suggested that it should be
the public, and not the council, that sets the spending agenda. Renewing her
call for increased openness in the decision-making process, she called for more
public hearings, including a “community dialogue session” similar to one held
at the high school last week, and for an “open conversation” with school
officials.
“That will allow us to have a full picture of our
budget,” she said, “so we can make better decisions about where we are going to
cut, and where we need to increase.”
TOURISM
Candidates were asked if they support the Sprague Corp.
plan to build what it calls an “auxiliary site” to Scarborough Beach State
Park, which it manages for the state, as well as whether or not tourism should
factor into the town’s marketing efforts.
Corthell declined to speak about the beach plan directly,
given her position on the Planning Board, which is currently reviewing the
proposal. However, she did say, “I don’t think we really understand how much we
get from tourism in Scarborough.” Along those lines she called for a study, as
well as a “community conversation,” to determine how much Scarborough might
reap from the tourism trade, and what stomach taxpayers have for spending on
the infrastructure necessary to support that traffic.
Ahlquist also tried to skirt the Sprague project, given
that the corporation also leases property where he works. However, he did
admit, “I think it’s too big. Whether I support it or not, why do they want to
build a mega park right next to the state park?” he asked.
That said, Ahlquist added, “It frustrates me that we
don’t do enough for tourism. We need to enhance, support and push tourism in
this area. Scarborough has wonderful
beaches we should promote. For those from away, it doesn’t have to stop at the
Old Orchard Beach town line.”
TOWN
DEBT
With Scarborough already owing $68 million in general
obligation bonds before the Wentworth vote, candidates were asked how much debt
is too much, and if there is any project for which they’d refuse to authorize
new bond sales.
Answers from both candidates hinged on the theme that, as
Corthell put it, “debt is not a bad thing.”
“The financial people tell us that we are very healthy in
the amount of bonds that we have and I have to take their advice that we’re
OK,” said Ahlquist. “I don’t think our bonding is outrageous. I don’t think its
outside the norm, and a lot of it is coming off the books in next few years.”
However, only Corthell came close to killing sacred cows.
“There’s nothing where I would say I would never, ever support that,” she said,
“other than something like sports facilities that I don’t consider essential to
academic education in a time when you don’t have enough revenues.”
A Closer Look
Ron Ahlquist
Age: 57
Occupation: Ranger at Crescent Beach State Park
Education: Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Mass. (Two years)
Residency: Life
Local experience: Town Council (Eight years – two full terms, two one-year terms)
Other Service: Scarborough Fire Dept. (25 years, retired)
Kerry Corthell
Age: 59
Occupation: Development Coordinator at Spurwink
Education: Ohio State University (Bachelor’s degrees in psychology and women’s studies); graduate courses at USM.
Residency: Three years
Local experience: Planning Board (since January)
Other Service: Scarborough Economic Development Corp. Vision-Implementation Committee, Charter Review Committee (vice-chairwoman)
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