BRUNSWICK

While some of Brunswick’s current councilors and school board members are running for reelection this coming November, a couple of longtime members are stepping aside after many years of service.

Nomination papers became available Friday for the positions.

On the town council, the District 3, 4 and at-large seats — currently filled by Suzan Wilson, John Perreault and Allison Harris, respectively — are up for grabs. Perreault is nearly positive he will run for reelection; neither Wilson nor Harris returned phone calls seeking comment on their future plans. Wilson, elected to the Council in 2009, has previously said publicly she does not plan to run in November.

Perreault, in his ninth year on the council, said serving as chairman this year “has brought a little life back into me.” He’s enjoyed the leadership role, and has helped the Council have shorter meetings under his watch.

“I would like to keep moving in a positive direction rather than going back to five-hour meetings,” Perreault said. “That doesn’t do anyone any good.”

Although he says he’s lost friends and business over the years because of decisions made as a councilor, he’s enjoyed the work. Budgets are a tough time that force tough decisions, he said, “but unfortunately someone has to make them and at the moment I feel I still can.”

As of Monday, Daniel Ankeles and Lucy Holm had both taken out papers for the council at-large seat.

According to a press release, Ankeles, 36, served for five years on the Brunswick Recreation Commission, the final two as chairman. He serves as a legislative aide for Democratic lawmakers in the State House.

“I’m running to help our community overcome its challenges and make sure more families who don’t always get their voices heard have a seat at the table,” said Ankeles in a press release. “Together we can build a better Brunswick where working parents can count on the best possible education for their kids, where seniors are confident they can remain in the homes they love and where we make the kind of investments that will attract more people and businesses to our town. We can’t keep holding ourselves back and hoping for the best.”

In a letter to The Times Record announcing her plans to run, Holm reached out to the town to see what she could do to improve it, work that could involve housing for the homeless, jobs to attract young families or filling in potholes.

“I need your input,” she wrote.

School Board

While District 3 school

board member Teresa Gillis and at-large member Joy Prescott say they will run for reelection, District 4 member Corinne Perreault will not, ending an 18-year run on the board.

“I started when my oldest was halfway through kindergarten and I’m going to finish when my youngest is halfway through senior year,” Perreault said.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School was constructed during her time on the board and construction of a new elementary school will start at the Jordan Acres site in the fall.

“I’m very proud of that,” Perreault said. “I think Brunswick had to weather the loss of the (Navy) base during my tenure and we fought hard not to lose the quality of education in Brunswick.

“I think we still have a long way to go with making sure that every student is properly provided for and educated, but we try really hard at the board level and administrator level as do all the teachers and employees to do that on a regular basis,” she added. “I am proud of my time there and I hope that people will think that I was a good school board member by the end of it.”

Gillis is running for reelection after finishing her first term on the school board.

I am excited to continue the work that we’ve been doing,” she said. “I feel like we finally have a functional, kindhearted, smart, child-centered school board who is really committed to getting the work done for all kids — not just one set of kids.”

Prescott, who has served as the chairwoman for the last year, plans to run for a third term on the school board. While she recognized the board’s accomplishment with adoption of a strategic framework, the board still had a lot of work to do.

“It is a lot about listening and understanding how things work and that things don’t always work as quickly as you want,” Prescott said. “But in the long-term, moving slowly and thoughtfully can be good for the community.”

Celina Harrison confirmed

Tuesday she plans to run for the District 4 school board seat. She has two children in the Brunswick school system and wants to have a voice in the education they will get. Harrison said she also comes from a family of teachers and is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Maine.

“I’m very interested in academics and academics in our school district,” she said, adding that includes making sure there is a rigorous curriculum, especially at the high school.

Nomination papers for these positions are available at the town clerk’s office and must be returned by Friday, Sept. 7.

dmoore@timesrecord.com