{"id":12349,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/joanna-benoit\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:38:30","slug":"joanna-benoit","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/joanna-benoit\/","title":{"rendered":"Joanna Benoit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Freeport Town Council, at large \u2014 elected November 2023; Elected Council chair by peers for 2025 and 2026. No previous unsuccessful campaigns for elected office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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My priorities are continuing to support housing and economic development efforts that\nstrengthen our tax base and help people live, work, stay, and thrive here; preserving our\nworking waterfront and natural resources; and ensuring clear, transparent municipal processes so people can meaningfully engage with local government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As the youngest person and only woman on the Council, I feel a responsibility to bring\nperspective to the work while representing our whole community. My husband, who works in\ntown, and I were only just able to afford our first home here six years ago. Freeport has a sense of community that is increasingly rare. I want people to be able to choose to live and stay here. Planning for Freeport\u2019s future while preserving what makes our community special is what makes me excited to seek a second term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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What is the biggest challenge facing your town\/county? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Freeport\u2019s biggest challenge is balancing the pressures facing communities across Maine:\nhousing and affordability, economic uncertainty, protecting natural resources, and pressure on property taxpayers. Our greatest opportunity is an exceptionally engaged community. That engagement gives us the ability to develop thoughtful, effective solutions that respond to these challenges while reflecting Freeport\u2019s unique character and priorities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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If you could change one thing about how the town\/county functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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We need more sustainable and equitable ways to fund local government. Increased reliance on property taxes puts pressure on homeowners, while rising costs, inflation, and requirements make funding essential services more difficult. Communities should be able to provide strong essential services while still investing in infrastructure, public spaces, and other priorities that improve quality of life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Do you support more development \u2013 i.e. more housing construction and business building in your town\/county? Why or why not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Yes. A 2025 study found Maine needs 84,000 new homes by 2030. Freeport is increasingly out of reach for people who want to live here and for those who want to stay. The key is how we do it. Freeport has spent years planning to direct development where infrastructure can support it. Thoughtful development can expand housing choices, support local businesses, and strengthen our tax base while protecting natural resources and maintaining the Town\u2019s character and sense of community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7209,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Joanna","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"Marie","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Benoit","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"Ms.","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":12347,"voter_guide_candidate_age":36,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Nonprofit leadership","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Proud first-time homeowner in Freeport, Council chair, and community development professional. Seeking a second term and happiest traveling, gardening, and spending time with my husband and pets.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"Undergraduate from UMass Amherst in food systems and policy; master's from the Muskie School of Public Service in policy, planning and management","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1hlYqkkmZ2jxStfVYMC_mtybEGMGPN4Kh","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[1186],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-12349","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-non-partisan"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/candidate"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12861,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12349\/revisions\/12861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=12349"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=12349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}