{"id":12387,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/brian-mcarthur\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","slug":"brian-mcarthur","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/brian-mcarthur\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian McArthur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First time running for office<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My top priorities are economic growth, recreational expansion and public safety. Waterville was once an economic powerhouse, and it can be again, but we need to be proactive about bringing business to town. Waterville already boasts amazing recreational assets, and we should build on these to keep people happy and healthy. With quality jobs, wellness and top-tier education, Waterville should be known for prosperity and quality of life. Public safety protects these assets from misuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To ensure Waterville\u2019s full revitalization. I want to ensure the city my children grow up in is thriving. I want their friends to grow up in healthy families with great jobs. My wife and I spent 10 years in South America doing charity work before choosing Waterville as the place to raise our kids. In just five years, we have seen so many things improve and come to fruition, including the downtown revisioning, new bridge and library restoration, and we have vision for an even brighter future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">What is the biggest challenge facing your town\/county? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Substance use is probably the biggest challenge, and it threatens to undo everything we build together. It is rooted in poverty and mental and emotional unwellness, so we need to address these issues through investments in quality employment, wellness and education. Our biggest opportunity is to leverage partnerships with our local colleges to turn Waterville into a professional and economic hub, creating skilled jobs for the future and building out our industrial zones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">If you could change one thing about how the town\/county functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Waterville needs to do better at building and utilizing partnerships to get things done. We have exceptional local colleges with hundreds of talented, skilled and enthusiastic students and professors, not to mention ties to big donors. We have resident groups eager to engage in community service. We have existing resources that could be multiplied by working together. The city also needs to be better about communicating all the amazing things that are already happening in Waterville daily.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e44e021b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-4-font-size\">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<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-left is-style-short-red\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Absolutely. Waterville should proactively attract investment in all areas. Our physical space is limited, so we need to be strategic about what, how and where we build. Projects like the Lockwood Mill and Head of Falls Village are great examples of maximizing space and multiuse construction that create walkability and community. As we grow, linking development projects with green spaces and trails will limit traffic issues, enhance quality of life and make our city even more beautiful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7181,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Brian","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"James","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"McArthur","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":12385,"voter_guide_candidate_age":41,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Licensed clinical mental health counselor","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Father of three. Married to a Mainer. Focused on big-picture concepts, patterns and future possibilities. Guided by logic, reason and efficiency over emotional consensus. Eighteen years management experience.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"M.S., clinical mental health counseling and post-master\u2019s certificate in adventure-based counseling, both Prescott College; B.A., international studies, concentration in development, and B.A., Spanish, both University of Arizona.","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1KEh88PLRcE4IYsAoz5YuG3olq-rSuJdX","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[466],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-12387","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-independent"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12387","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":1,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12388,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12387\/revisions\/12388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=12387"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=12387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}