{"id":12435,"date":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/kevin-kitchin\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:07:49","slug":"kevin-kitchin","status":"publish","type":"candidate","link":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/candidates\/kevin-kitchin\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Kitchin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Previous Offices Held<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Currently serving on Fairfield Town Council, having been appointed in 2024 to fill a vacancy and elected in 2025 to serve the rest of the term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

Top Three Priorities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

My priorities are lowering the burden on taxpayers, protecting essential services and improving transparency. I\u2019ve pushed for closer review of spending, challenged costs when they didn\u2019t make sense and supported long-term planning for EMS, public safety and infrastructure. I\u2019ll continue asking tough questions, looking for responsible ways to reduce taxes and making sure residents understand where their money is going and what they\u2019re getting for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

Why are you running?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

I got involved because too many residents felt their voices didn\u2019t matter. I wanted to help change that. Thirty years of military leadership taught me to listen, bring people together, make tough decisions and work with anyone, even when we disagree. I don\u2019t believe leadership is about always being right. It\u2019s about listening, asking tough questions and getting results. I\u2019m running to make sure Fairfield\u2019s residents have a voice and that voice matters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

What is the biggest challenge facing your town\/county? The biggest opportunity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Fairfield\u2019s biggest challenge is the growing tax burden on our residents. We can\u2019t keep solving every problem by asking taxpayers for more. We need to control spending, plan ahead and make responsible use of the resources we already have. Our biggest opportunity is smart growth: bringing in new businesses, housing and investment that expands our tax base, creates opportunity and helps ease the burden on the people who already call Fairfield home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

If you could change one thing about how the town\/county functions, what would it be and why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

I would like to see more residents involved in our town committees and local government. We have many dedicated volunteers, but we need more people willing to bring their ideas, experience and different perspectives to the table. I\u2019ve made myself available to residents, listened to their concerns and encouraged people to get involved. Fairfield is stronger when more residents participate, serve on committees and feel they have a meaningful role in shaping our community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

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
\n\n\n\n

Yes. I support responsible growth that expands Fairfield\u2019s tax base and helps ease the burden on existing taxpayers. The recent MaineHousing-approved housing project is a good example of new investment coming to our community. We should welcome housing and businesses that make sense for Fairfield while considering roads, water, traffic and neighboring properties. Growth should strengthen our community, create opportunity and provide a real long-term benefit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7218,"template":"","meta":{"voter_guide_candidate_first_name":"Kevin","voter_guide_candidate_middle_name":"","voter_guide_candidate_last_name":"Kitchin","voter_guide_candidate_suffix":"","voter_guide_candidate_race_id":12433,"voter_guide_candidate_age":56,"voter_guide_candidate_hometown":"","voter_guide_candidate_occupation":"Fairfield town councilor, retired U.S. Navy officer","voter_guide_candidate_bio":"Retired U.S. Navy officer with 30 years of service, Fairfield town councilor, president of Central Maine ATV Club and veteran outreach coordinator.","voter_guide_candidate_education":"Master\u2019s Degree in Business Administration and Management; Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Professional Aeronautics.","voter_guide_candidate_years_in_municipality":"","voter_guide_candidate_headshot_url":"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1Eo3saU3pS1ZwUc0wi8aYGohSYJXW3SwM","voter_guide_candidate_date_filed":"","footnotes":""},"vg_party":[564],"vg_residence_municipality":[],"class_list":["post-12435","candidate","type-candidate","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","vg_party-republican"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12435","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\/12435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12436,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/candidates\/12435\/revisions\/12436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vg_party","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_party?post=12435"},{"taxonomy":"vg_residence_municipality","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.pressherald.com\/voter-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vg_residence_municipality?post=12435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}