FREEPORT – James Hendricks, the newly named chairman of the Freeport Town Council, is anticipating a good 2013.

“I have a lot of good councilors behind me and I’m looking forward to a good year, continuing the work we’ve been doing, moving Freeport as it’s been going, steadily improving and doing well, but also keeping the good team approach we’ve had as a council,” Hendricks said last week after his colleagues unanimously elected him to the leadership post. “It’s worked well the past year.”

Hendricks, an at-large councilor, takes the job held by Jim Cassida in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2012. Cassida, a 10-year council veteran, lost his re-election bid in the Nov. 6 election to Andy Wellen.

At its meeting Nov. 13, the board also unanimously named District 3 Councilor Kristina Egan as the vice chairwoman. In putting Egan’s name up for the position, District 2 Councilor Kate Arno said she thought Egan “would bring a lot of strategic thinking and long-term planning to the position.”

After the meeting, which was an organizational one dedicated to selecting new leadership and paying tribute to outgoing councilors Charlotte Bishop and Cassida, Hendricks said being in a leadership role is not new to him.

“This isn’t the first group I’ve chaired,” he said, adding that he has served as the past president of the Freeport Rotary Club and he is also a member of the board of the Casco Bay YMCA.

Hendricks, who works full time as a chiropractor, is starting his third year on the council.

He said he needs to get used to being one of the longest-tenured members sitting on the council.

“It’s kind of different for me having started with a very veteran council and being the only new member on the council to now being the second most senior member,” he said, adding that he is going to rely on his fellow councilors to help keep things running smoothly. “I have a good vice chair and a good amount of councilors that are going to help me out,” he said.

As for his leadership style, Hendricks said he wasn’t sure how much he would differ from the style of past chairmen like Cassida.

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “Everyone’s a little bit different. I tend to (use) a team approach. I just try to be middle of the road, hear what everyone has to say, get help when I have to and listen when I have to.”

When asked about some of his goals for the coming year, Hendricks said he wants to work to get the new councilors and new Town Manager Peter Joseph working together to ensure that the town doesn’t miss a step with so many new faces in leadership positions.

“There’s a lot going on,” Hendricks said. “With a new town manager, I just want to make sure that we keep the ship steady. We had a great year with our previous manager, keeping our tax rate stable. Freeport, if you look at it outwardly, it’s a very prosperous town. I just want to maintain the same level that we’ve been going at. The main thing for me is keeping the tax rate stable while still being able to provide the same services we have in town.”

With the District 1 seat on the seven-member board open because of the resignation last month of Sara Gideon, who moved from the district, a special election has been scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 4.

James ?Hendricks