Five candidates, including two longtime town councilors, are vying for three seats on the Old Orchard Beach Town Council.
Incumbents Shawn O’Neill, Michael Tousignant and Kenneth Blow are seeking to return to the council for two-year terms. They face challenges from former Councilor Roxanne Frenette and Gholamreza Namin, who has not held elected office in Old Orchard Beach.
OLD ORCHARD BEACH COUNCIL CANDIDATES
Kenneth Blow
Age: 54
Address: 138 Portland Ave.
Family: Divorced, two grown children
Education: Old Orchard Beach High School
Job: Operations manager at BBI Waste/Blow Bros.
Civic and political experience: 3.5 years on Old Orchard Beach Town Council, past planning board member, Libby Memorial Library trustee, Goosefare Brook Restoration Committee, Biddeford Saco Shuttlebus Transit Committee, Maine Water Co. Advisory Committee, Lions Club, Saco Bay Sunset Rotary, Shriner, Mason – Orchard Lodge #215, Knights Templar – St. Amand Commandry #20.
Roxanne Frenette
Age: 55
Address: 102 Ross Road
Family: Married, two children, three grandchildren
Education: Associate degree, legal secretarial
Job: Admission counselor, The Pines in Ocean Park, for three years; administrative assistant, Maine Turnpike Authority, for 31 years
Civic and political experience: Old Orchard Beach Town Council, 2002-2008; elected in 2013 to fill term of recalled town councilor
Gholamreza “Reza” Namin
Age: 56
Address: 1 Stanley St.
Family: Married
Education: Post-doctoral studies, Harvard University, Ph.D. in math and science education, certificate of advanced graduate studies in leadership and educational administration, master’s in applied math and chemistry, bachelor’s in chemistry and math, Worcester State University
Job: CEO, Life and Business Solutions, Old Orchard Beach; former superintendent of Westbrook School Department
Civic and political experience: Chairman of Old Orchard Beach Finance Committee
Name: Shawn O’Neill
Did not respond to information requests
Name: Michael Tousignant
Did not respond to information requests
O’Neill, the current council chairman, and Tousignant did not respond to interview requests.
O’Neill, 52, served on the council for 14 years before taking a break and rejoining the council in 2013.
Tousignant, 54, previously served on the Planning Board and was on the council from 2008 to 2012, then rejoined it in 2013.
Blow, 54, has been on the council for the past 3½ years and is running for re-election in hopes of continuing to work on addressing infrastructure needs. Those needs include a sewer treatment facility that could cost $25 million, as well as schools in “dire need of repair,” he said.
“We have a lot of urgent needs, but we need to do it without burdening the taxpayer,” Blow said.
He said his time on the council, coupled with his experience as a businessman, give him valuable insight.
“The town itself is similar to a business in how it should be operated. With just over three years on the council, it’s helped me to understand the workings and how to approach different issues in the town,” he said.
Frenette, 55, served on the council from 2002 to 2008, then was elected in 2013 to fill the remaining term of a recalled councilor. A third-generation resident of Old Orchard Beach, Frenette said she thinks the council needs some “female blood” and would benefit from her experience.
“I don’t have the learning curve that someone without experience would have,” she said.
Frenette said she would like to eliminate the sewer user fee for residents who don’t use the system, a concern she hears echoed by town residents.
In the past two years, councilors have worked well together and she would like to see that continue, Frenette said.
“I’d like to see things continue to go as smoothly as they are, but with my input,” she said.
Namin, 56, is a former Westbrook school superintendent who has served as chairman of the town’s finance committee. He said he is passionate about serving the community where he has lived since 2009, and he now has the time to dedicate to the council.
“I think being involved in the conversation about the goals and priorities of the community (while on the finance committee) allowed me to learn a lot,” he said.
Namin said his experience overseeing a $32 million education budget in Westbrook and his time on the finance committee make him well qualified to be a town councilor. If elected, he would like to take a more proactive approach to budgeting, particularly when it comes to the “significant” infrastructure issues facing the town. Namin also said he would like to bring more commercial activity to the town in order to balance and diversify the tax base and reduce the burden on residents, particularly seniors on a fixed income.
Namin said he would also be a strong supporter of education in Old Orchard Beach.
“One of the things I bring to the table is my experience as an educator. I’m really passionate about supporting the schools,” he said.
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