Three candidates are clamoring to fill a one-year term left open by the October resignation of Alison Libbey.

Incumbent Tracy Scheckel, who was appointed last year to fill the post until the June 10 election, is joined on the ballot by Philip Pulsifer and Richard Walls.

Pulsifer, a resident of Gray for 18 years, is a self employed jack of all trades who specializes in small engine repair. He is also a bus driver with the Raymond School Department.

Pulsifer has served on the Turnpike Bypass Committee, Ordinance Review Committtee, and is a member of the Gray Business Association. He said he would to like the town to draw more commercial investment.

“I’m concerned because of the energy costs, and gas prices,” he said. “I think we should be looking for more businesses to keep people from going outside of Gray to do business.”

Gray is a crossroads, Pulsifer said. “We are traffic intense,” he said. “We need to capture that traffic.”

Pulsifer said the town could use one or two more recognizable food establishments. Hannaford Brothers, he said, will help the town immensely.

“It creates a lot of jobs. High school kids can actually walk to work,” Pulsifer said. “Also, it helps the tax base, and it will have a full service pharmacy. It will give Rite Aid competition, which it needs.”

More work needs to be done to control Gray’s traffic problems, Pulsifer added. The signs near the interstate are confusing, and fail to guide drivers to the bypass, he said.

Pulsifer would also like to remove the barrier near Dunkin’ Donuts that is designed to control traffic flow out of the busy spot near the village intersection.

“It’s not working,” he said. “People are going over it in the winter time. People take u-turns in driveways or go through the town office. I’ve actually seen them go up the wrong lane.”

Scheckel, 47, moved to Gray a year ago and quickly got involved in town matters, mostly on projects near her house in the village. In October of last year, she was appointed by the Town Council to fill the Libbey’s former spot. Now she would like the voters to allow her to finish the term.

“Gray is just on the edge of some great things,” said Scheckel, who moved to Gray with her husband and four kids last May. “I just want to be a part of it.”

Scheckel bought her house because it was near the village, and she feels the downtown area can be turned into a special place for residents and visitors alike. As the council’s liaison to the Community Economic Development Committee, Scheckel was happy to see that group secure a grant to renovate sidewalks, place wires underground and generally improve the look of the village.

“It’s very exciting to see the village become more pedestrian-like it was years ago,” she said. “I can see the potential for tourists to come and stop on the way through here.”

The budget put forward by the council this year is “forward thinking and responsible,” she said.”It’s crafted so it’s not too much of a burden.”

Though the budget uses fund balances to pay for a number of items, the funds are being invested in the appropriate areas, she said. For example, $25,000 set to buy land at Libby Hill comes from a fund designed to invest in recreation.

“That money needs to go to buy green space,” said Scheckel. “That’s what it is there for.”

Part of the reason that the budget may look too high for some residents is because it has been reduced the last few years, Scheckel said.

“If you scrimp one year, you are going to end up paying for it,” she said.

Walls, 67, ran unsuccessfully for the council three years ago. Retired after 27 years with Chrysler Financial Corporation, Walls describes himself as fiscally conservative.

With federal and state taxes on the rise, and costs going up as well, Walls said the town should cut back on its spending.

“I believe it is a time that taxes have to be kept in line,” said Walls. The 2008-09 budget is too high for residents, he said. “The town of Gray was perched very nicely before this budget.”

Walls is upset at a number of items on the budget, including an increase in payroll that he said is too high.

“I think we should act more diligently,” Walls said. “People certainly need raises, but somehow we’ve gone too far in that direction.”

He would also like to see the town dispose of some of its property.

“The town owns too much property,” he said, citing the old police and fire stations, as well as the Pennell Institute. “There is nothing in the budget for maintaining those properties.”

The Pennell property needs to be “put to a practical use” before it loses value, Walls said. “I can’t see allowing it to deteriorate. There’s no other money for it besides heating oil.”

Gray is a growing town that is centrally located, Walls said. There is a lot of interest in Gray, and town officials need to present to prospective businesses a unified vision for the town.

“At various times, it’s been difficult for businesses to get into Gray,” he said. “We’ve all got to get on the same page.”

Tracy Richard Walls