28-04-2025
Election 2025: Wells Select Board a highlight among York County's contested races
The town of Wells has the distinction of being the only York County Coast Star community with a contested Select Board race on its ballot during the upcoming June 10 election.
Chair John MacLeod III and fellow Select Board member Scott DeFelice are both running for re-election. They are being challenged by Avery Seuter and Mark Bagdasarian.
MacLeod, currently the chair of the Select Board, is seeking his third consecutive term. He said he is running for three more years because he wants to continue to work on the many projects the town is currently pursuing. Responsible community planning, infrastructure, emergency medical services, sea-level rise, and housing, particularly accessible dwelling units, were among the issues McLeod named as being on the town's plate.
'We've been working on a lot of large initiatives,' he said.
MacLeod also noted the general climate of politics today, adding there is a lot of contention and breakdowns in communication across the country. He said Wells is different.
'Wells is still a nice community,' he said. 'The underlying principle should always be that we listen to people. I think we have a board that listens to people.'
Fellow incumbent Scott DeFelice is running for a second consecutive term to continue being a part of a 'good group on the board, with an excellent town manager.'
'We're working on some serious issues,' DeFelice said. 'I'd like to be a part of the solutions. If calm, rational people don't step up, things can really go sideways really quickly.'
DeFelice said he is concerned about some of the mandates passed down to towns from the state level – ones that 'creep into areas where they've not gone before.'
For example, DeFelice referred to zoning, particularly LD 2003, the bill that the Maine Legislature passed for the regulation of accessible dwelling units to meet the state's housing goals.
'That's admirable, but the state's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for us,' he said, referring to smaller communities like Wells.
DeFelice said he is also concerned about the state's broadening view of code enforcement as it relates to such matters as plumbing fixtures, drywall repair, and other specifics. He said the matter is an issue of individual rights and added that local code officers are already busy with their jobs.
'They've got bigger things to deal with,' he said.
DeFelice also referred to the potential unification of the Wells Fire Department and Wells Emergency Medical Services, a proposal that intends to help WEMS overcome its challenges with expenses and staffing and allow it to keep meeting local demands for services.
'We're at the point where something has to be done,' DeFelice said. 'This needs to be studied carefully.'
DeFelice also said he wants to keep working on the project to build a new community center at Founders Park on Sanford Road. He called the project, which is in its final stages with the local Planning Board, an important part of efforts to create a sense of a town center.
'We're going at leaps and bounds,' said DeFelice, who co-chairs the Founders Park Community Center Committee. 'I would love to be there for the completion of this project.'
Avery Seuter, a recent York County Community College graduate, said he is running for a Select Board seat because a recent collaboration between him and his friends and the local government gave him a taste of accomplishment and community service.
Seuter said the collaboration involved improving pedestrian access between the college and Route 1.
'That got me excited,' he said. 'I like that you can identify a problem in town and can work with people to fix things.'
Seuter said he attended more Select Board meetings since working with the town on the pedestrian access issue.
'The procedural elements of the Select Board are really interesting to me,' he said.
Seuter said he would like to work on solving transportation issues in the community. He said he has followed the town's Route 1 Corridor Study efforts closely and feels sidewalks need to be upgraded and added throughout the community. In particular, he said it 'would be huge' if the town could install sidewalks that connect the local train station to the center of the community, 'especially since ridership is up.'
Seuter also said he would like to work on cost-of-living issues, especially relating to housing.
'It's hard to find affordable shelter in Wells,' he said. 'As a young person, that's top of my mind.'
The fourth candidate, Mark Bagdasarian, did not reply by press time to questions that were emailed to him at his request.
In other races, voters will settle a three-way race for two terms that are available on the Wells Sanitary District's Board of Trustees. Incumbent Justin Batchelder is running to keep his seat, and newcomers Andre Brousseau and Paul Baratta are each hoping for their own opportunity to serve.
Mark Bagdasarian and Cory Chase are seeking to represent the town on the Kennebunk Kennebunkport Wells Water District Board of Trustees.
More: Wells police ICE training sparks pushback
Select Board Chair Miriam Whitehouse and Board member Leslie Trentalange, both on the town's ballot for a second consecutive term, are running unopposed.
Incumbent Robert Emmons is facing a challenge from newcomer Kevin Flynn for a five-year term on the Kennebunk Light and Power District's Board of Trustees.
Incumbent Wayne Brockway is the only one seeking one of the two three-year seats available on the Kennebunk Sewer District's Board of Trustees. Brockway is currently the Board's treasurer.
More: Kennebunk Detective Steve Borst helps solve national ATM theft case
Longtime Select Board member Sheila Mathews-Bull has decided not to pursue another term on the board. As a result, Select Board incumbent Jon Dykstra and first-timer Joseph Moan are assured the two three-year seats that are up for grabs.
Incumbent Select Board Vice Chair Carole Allen is uncontested in her hope for reelection.
Newcomer Molly Muscari is uncontested in her bid for a term on the town's Budget Review Committee. Incumbent Frederick Lynk is not seeking another term.
There are two alternate posts available on the Budget Review Committee, but no one is seeking to fill them on the ballot.
Lastly, incumbent Chair William Sawyer is uncontested in his bid for a new three-year term as a trustee of the Ogunquit Sewer District.
Select Board Chair Velma Jones Hayes and newcomer Charles Bassett are running unopposed for the two seats on the board. Incumbent Select Board member Jason Nedeau is not seeking reelection.
Two three-year terms are available on the Budget Board, but only incumbent Theo Rohrs is in the running.
More: RSU 21 advances $62.7M budget to voters
As for local School Board races, the situation is the same: incumbents and newcomers alike can enjoy a stress-free campaign season.
In Kennebunk, Arianna Efstathiou and Brian McGrath, both new arrivals on the political scene, are unchallenged in their first attempts to represent their hometown on the RSU 21 School Board. Kennebunk incumbents Claudia Sayre and Gayle Asmussen Spofford, whose seats are on the ballot, are not seeking reelection.
In Kennebunkport, incumbent Rachel Kennedy-Smith is seeking reelection to a three-year term on the RSU 21 School Board. She is not facing an opponent.
Neither is Robert Domine, who is running to serve one year of an unfinished term on the RSU 21 School Board – the one vacated by Susan Holloran and later filled by Diane Franz by appointment. Franz is not making a bid to keep the seat. Domine is a former member of the School Board.
In Arundel, the third and final RSU 21 community, recently appointed School Board member Mandy Cummings is uncontested in her hopes of serving one year of an unfinished term. Cummings is currently serving in the seat vacated by Kirstin Shapiro last winter.
Also on the Arundel ballot, incumbent Vice Chair Britney Gerth is seeking three more years on the School Board and is not facing a challenge.
Over in the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District, newcomer Kevin Chabot and incumbent Boriana Dolliver are the sole candidates in their quests to represent Wells and Ogunquit, respectively, on the WOCSD School Board. In Wells, incumbent Chair Helena Kowalewski is not seeking reelection.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Election 2025: Wells Select Board among York County's contested races
