Bob Savary, a former deputy chief who is running for Bath City Council this November, says one of his key concerns is less support of law enforcement. Alex Lear / The Forecaster

BATH — Bob Savary, former deputy chief with the Bath Police, is running this November to fill the remaining two years of a City Council seat being vacated by Chairwoman Mari Eosco.

Nomination papers for the Bath council are due to the City Clerk’s office by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18. Papers for the Topsham Board of Selectmen and Topsham representatives to the School Administrative District 75 Board of Directors are due by 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, to that clerk’s office, and papers for the Regional School Unit 1 Board of Directors must be returned to the RSU 1 office by 2 p.m. that day.

The Bath City Council seats filled by Eosco and Julie Ambrosino (both at-large), as well as by Phyllis Bailey (Ward 1) and Susan Bauer (Ward 6) are open. Town Clerk Darci Wheeler said early this week she has received papers from Bailey, Ambrosino and Savary; Bauer could not be reached for comment on whether she would run again.

Mari Eosco, elected to the Bath City Council in 2007 and its chairwoman since 2013, is stepping down in November. File

“I’m very concerned about the anti-police movement going on in our nation,” said Savary, who retired as deputy chief in 2019 after nearly 27 years with the department. “I believe our law enforcement needs support from city leaders and I’m running to support them and the rest of our city employees. I think the quality of life in cities like Bath is because of services city employees provide. As a city councilor, I want to make sure they know they’re appreciated.”

Eosco, who in 2013 became the council’s first chairwoman, announced her resignation from the panel in June, effective Nov. 4. She was first elected in 2007.

In her decision not to run again, Eosco cited a need to provide full time care for her mother and also being available for her children, “who will likely be at home more and could benefit from additional educational opportunities during the pandemic.”

“After much contemplation, it became clear that I need to put my energy into my immediate family, though it was a tough decision because the city, our community, has been an extended family in many ways,” she said. “… It takes a village to raise our children and to care for our elders, and we have a special village.”

Papers can be picked up by appointment at the City Clerk’s office, 55 Front St., by calling 443-8332.

Both Dave Douglass and Ruth Lyons, whose Topsham Board of Selectmen seats are expiring, said they are running again. Douglass said he was “99% positive” this would mark his fourth and final term.

The School Board seats filled by Andrea Imrie, Bill Keleher, Sarah Ward and Jeffrey Wolkens are also available. Ward said she is undecided about whether she would run again; the other three could not be reached to indicate whether they would seek reelection.

Papers can be picked up at the Topsham clerk’s office at 100 Main St.

Nomination papers for Megan Fuller’s Bath residence seat on the RSU 1 Board of Directors are available, as well as for Bill Perkins’ Phippsburg seat and Jennifer Ritch-Smith’s Woolwich seat. Ritch-Smith and Perkins said they plan to run again; Fuller could not be reached for comment.

Although candidates have to be a resident of the municipality for the post they seek, RSU 1 residents from every municipality will vote for all open seats in the districct. Papers can be requested by calling central office secretary Annmarie Harkins at 443-6601 ext. 116, or by emailing aharkins@rsu1.org.