Three newcomers are running to fill a vacant Orono Town Council seat in a special election in August.
The candidates are Jacob Baker, Matthew Powers and Catherine Thibedeau. They are competing to finish Cheryl Robertson’s unexpired term, which ends in March 2024. The council accepted Robertson’s resignation at its June 12 meeting.
The special election will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8. Voters should cast their ballots at the Council Chamber, which is on the second floor of the town office at 59 Main Street. The winning candidate will join the council just a few months after newcomers Sarah Marx and Daniel Demeritt began their terms.
Registered voters can visit the town office from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday to vote by absentee ballot.
Baker, a commercial lender at Bangor Savings Bank, grew up in upstate New York and moved to Boston after college, where he worked as a constituent services aid for the Boston City Council and a committee staffer for the Massachusetts legislature.
He moved to Orono more than a decade ago for graduate school at the University of Maine. The 40-year-old is involved with groups in the Greater Bangor area, including Habitat for Humanity and the Penobscot Theatre Company, and wants to give back to the town that he has grown to love over the years, he said.
“I want to help Orono in any way that I can to continue to succeed and move forward as a vibrant, viable college town,” he said.
Powers, an editor for a science and nature imprint at Catalyst Press, moved from Minnesota to Orono nine years ago with his family. He grew up in El Paso, Texas, where he studied microbiology, then received his doctorate in molecular cell biology at the University of Utah.
The 46-year-old feels that he would bring a family-oriented perspective to the council, and he wants to protect amenities such as the public library, municipal pool, after-school programs, and parks and recreation programming, he said.
“I am interested in a culture where the town listens to its citizens and implements good ideas,” he said. “I’m also interested in continuing to use data-driven projections to make budgetary decisions.”
Thibedeau, 53, was born in Seoul, Korea, and moved around for much of her life, though she considers Massachusetts her home state. She has lived and raised her family in Orono for the past 15 years.
She leads Orono-based Independence Advocates of Maine, which provides services to those with intellectual disabilities and autism. Thibedeau volunteers with Orono Boosters to provide concessions at high school sporting events. She has served on boards at the local, state and federal levels, including the Maine Association for Community Service Providers.
“My children are getting older, and I have the time to give back to Orono, which has given so much to my family,” she said. “I have the experience, leadership and professionalism to serve, and to be part of a council that creates opportunities for all of its citizens to thrive.”
Baker, Powers and Thibedeau have never served on a town council, but they pointed out that their experiences leading teams and budgets, involvement with volunteer groups and other skills would make them the best candidate for the job.
Information about the candidates and their viewpoints on town government are available on Orono’s website.
