HARPSWELL — Ronald Ponziani and Paul Standridge will vie Saturday to take over as Harpswell’s road commissioner after the current road commissioner, Bob Venard, decided not to seek re-election.

Ronald Ponziani

Ponziani said in a candidates forum on Harpswell Community Television that he has had a lifetime of construction and road work in and around Harpswell.

“I’ve pretty much dug up the west side of Harpswell — from one end to the other,” Ponziani said.

Ponziani, who is listed as a general contractor with the town, said he has a wide range of experience, including plowing and sanding roads in town.

“I have a pretty good idea of what it’s all about,” Ponziani said. “I’ve done a lot of plowing myself.”

Referring to a previous run for road commissioner in 1982, Ponziani said it was then possible to be the road commissioner and still do road work for the town, but he’s glad that conflict of interest is not allowed any longer.

“That was one of the things that I was against,” Ponziani said.

Ponziani said he would support the formation of a committee made up of residents and volunteer contractors to advise the road commissioner.

Whenever possible, Ponziani said, he would look to local contractors to complete necessary road maintenance.

“I don’t think there’s too much to go out of town for,” Ponziani said.

Paul Standridge

Standridge said it has been years since he has dug a ditch or cleaned out a culvert, but that his managerial experience sets him apart from his opponent.

The town, he said, is “looking for someone who is more than just a doer.”

Standridge, who spent his career in business, said that he has past experience in road work, with time spent as supervisor of a re-surfacing and maintenance crew, and managerial experience working in distribution and marketing for companies, including selling construction supplies in Saudi Arabia.

Standridge said that he would be able to communicate well with snow plow operators and Maine Department of Transportation officials alike.

In a statement to The Times Record, Standridge said that his priorities would be to keep Harpswell’s roads open during the winter and to ensure that spring work focuses on clearing road shoulders, ditches and culverts of winter sand deposits.

In his fourth year in Harpswell, Standridge said that he believes he has “time, ability and desire to do this job.”

In the forum on Harpswell Community Television, Standridge said he would not oppose starting a committee made up of residents and volunteer contractors to advise the road commissioner.

Standridge serves on the town’s Planning Board and the Waterfront Committee. He previously served for 12 years as a county commissioner in his home state of North Carolina.

Standridge lives with his wife Ann McEwen, whose family has roots that go back more than 100 years in Harpswell, he said.

The polls will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Harpswell Community School. The annual town meeting will begin there at 10 a.m.

dfishell@timesrecord.com