Variety is the spice of a community, and lifelong resident Penny Jordan said if elected to the Town Council she will work to attract small businesses to Cape Elizabeth and keep the community mixed.

Jordan, 55, whose father Bill Jordan served in various Cape government roles for nearly 30 years, is taking her first step into politics.

“I have wanted to run for Town Council and become more involved in town politics,” she said. “It’s now time to do that because I feel I am at a point in my life where I can dedicate the time that it takes to be effective in this kind of a role.”

Jordan is married to David Cox and works at Jordan Farms. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in business administration and social work and later received a master’s degree from Boston University in social work.

She is running against Jim Walsh for the seat that Mary Ann Lynch vacated shortly before the Nov. 4 elections. Lynch was council chairwoman until she took a job as director of information for the state judiciary. The judiciary’s code of ethics prohibits her from holding elected office.

Walsh said Cape is facing a pivotal point in its history as it must meet the challenge of a $500,000 budget shortfall. She says she wants to find ways to meet that budget demand without raising property taxes.

“We are a wonderful mixed community of business-class and working-class people, and I want to see us continue as such,” she said. “What I see happening is that we’re pricing people out of the market. There are people that I know personally that say if their taxes increase much more, then they will be forced to move.”

Jordan would also focus on cutting some services, which could reduce spending and keep the budget healthy without raising property taxes, she said.

“I think it’s ludicrous to think that nothing’s going to be affected. We make personal decisions in our house as simple as ‘I can do a 100 gallons of oil, but can I fill the tank?’ ” she said. “I think people would be fooling themselves if they think we can get through these times without impacting services. We need to listen to what people say and try to internalize it as much as we can and make the best decision for the town as a whole.”

One way that Cape can remain mixed and meet its budget needs is to attract small businesses to the area, such as farmer’s markets, and cheese and wine stores.

“I know this isn’t the popular stand, but I believe that we need to be business-friendly and figure out a way to bring another revenue stream into Cape Elizabeth,” she said.

Jordan said that helping Cape for the future depends on having short-term and long-term goals.

Short-term goals for Jordan include creating a dialogue across the entire town to bring the town together to discuss issues that are facing Cape.

Long-term goals for her include exploring how to leverage President Barack Obama’s proposed stimulus package to benefit the town by enhancing its infrastructure and moving completely away from fossil fuels.

“We need to balance our vision for Cape not just for next year, but also make decisions that will affect us 5 to 10 years in the future,” she said.

The election will be on Jan. 27 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Room 102 at Cape Elizabeth High School.

Penny Jordan is a lifelong Cape Elizabeth resident running for a vacated Town Council seat because she wants to lower property taxes while attracting sustainable businesses to the town.