Candidate advocates

for every student

I encourage all voters in Kennebunkport to vote for Diane Franz for RSU 21 School Board. When there was a vacancy on the board, Diane stepped up to the plate, and embraced her new appointment with commitment and enthusiasm.

Diane is committed to public education that realizes the full potential of our students. She advocates for a strong academic foundation for every student, and she recognizes parents and legal guardians as primary contributors to their children’s success. She promotes a strong sense of citizenship:

With quality education in RSU 21 our students will grow into contributing, responsible citizens improving our community, our country, and our world. Please vote for Diane Franz and support excellent education in RSU 21.

Margaret Myatt

Kennebunkport

 

Dedicated board

members needed

It’s now time for Kennebunkport Select Board voters to ask themselves, who has what it takes to roll up their sleeves and get to work tackling today’s tough issues with forward-thinking ingenuity?

Times are changing whether we like it or not, and the demands placed on our elected officials are increasing as a result. Effective leadership requires more than attendance at meetings twice a month.

We need dedicated board members who will put in the long hours, serve on multiple committees, be open to new ideas, build consensus, appreciate the complexity of the issues facing all Maine towns, and not kick problems down the road.

Deep town roots will always be valued, but we also need to make room for fresh energy and relevant board experiences from beyond our borders that can enrich our town management and broaden our possibilities.

To me, the choice is clear. I will be voting on June 11 for David Bancroft and Fred Stafford.

Bruce Donath

Kennebunkport

 

Witness to fair,

informed leadership

I’d like to publicly endorse Allen Daggett for re-election to the Kennebunkport Select Board. As a Kennebunkport resident, I have tuned into or attended numerous select board meetings, and when I do, I witness the fair, open-minded, informed, and civil leadership that Allen provides our community.

I’ve seen him provide well researched context for long-standing issues that may be new to some; I’ve seen him provide balance when not all points on an issue are presented, and I have seen him skillfully tone down the rhetoric when things get heated.

A lifetime resident of Kennebunkport, who grew up in Cape Porpoise and graduated from Kennebunk High School, Allen is nonetheless welcoming to those of us who settled here from ‘away.’ Re-electing Allen to the slect board is in Kennebunkport’s best interest – Allen’s experience brings context and the perspective of a local businessman, with rich, sustained community relationships.

Bo Balcavage

Kennebunkport

 

Real-life education

in progress

Reading of the ructions and discord amongst the local education administrators and teachers, it warms the cockles of one’s heart to know Kennebunk students are getting a real-life education in the benefits and joys of diversity.

Charles Day

Arundel

 

Candidate strives

for consensus

When I think about Fred Stafford, I think, model public servant. Those of who have served with Fred on the Beach Advisory Committee have seen what dedication, commitment and hard work looks like. He’s often the first offer a hand or to volunteer. His follow-up is exemplary and consistent.

Fred is a great listener and is always thoughtful and sensible when he speaks. He’s a problem solver, he’s creative and smart and works hard to understand the perspectives of others as he strives to build consensus.

As head of our communications subcommittee, he’s always on task and thinking ahead to the next opportunity or challenge. Fred is always ready to face up to new challenges while mindful of our traditions. His participation in the town’s Climate Taskforce shows his willingness to take up the tough questions that have been ignored for too long.

The residents of Kennebunkport would be very lucky to have Fred Stafford as a new member on the Kennebunkport Select Board.

Paul Hogan

Kennebunkport

 

Academic experience gives

candidate an edge

As a former SAD 71 director, I would like to highly recommend Rachel Kennedy-Smith, Ph.D, to be elected to the one-year vacancy in Kennebunkport. In my opinion, the town select board should have selected her last fall to fill the vacated position.

As one of the candidates who dropped out after making presentations to the select board, I suggested that she be appointed because she was clearly best qualified for the position because of her education and academic experience. In addition, she is an involved parent at Consolidated School. Please vote for Rachel Kennedy-Smith.

Tom and Maryellen Foley

Cape Porpoise

 

Ideal background

and mindset

Please join me in voting for Matt Stratford to represent Kennebunk on the RSU 21 School Board. He has the background and mindset to be an excellent school board director. He will bring significant leadership, team building, and communication skills to the board. He is quickly able to learn about and analyze complex issues; his working relationships are based upon respect, good communication, and good information; and he is a thoughtful communicator.

In speaking with Matt recently, I learned that he is very much interested in ideas from the public and the RSU 21 employees about how our schools can improve. I urge you to support Matt with your vote.

Linda DeFelice

Kennebunk

 

Board needs calm,

rational approach

Peter Sentner has brought a welcome change to the RSU 21 School Board after recently taking over as its chair. Unfortunately, his term on the board expires next month and he will be stepping down. Peter’s exceptional leadership style is needed at this time while the board is dealing with multiple and conflicting issues.

The board needs to find someone with the calm, reasoned, rational approach and demeanor that Peter brings. Temper tantrums and crying will not solve the problems in our schools. Good leadership is necessary, as well as board members who value excellence in education, welcome parents and community members, and respect teachers.

Hopefully, the person who follows him as chair will demonstrate these same leadership qualities. I am hoping that Peter will continue to serve in an advisory capacity as RSU 21 schools navigate the turbulent waters ahead.

Jane Evelyn

Kennebunkport

 

Respect, admire

board candidate

I am writing to express my endorsement of and my respect and admiration for Robin Phillips for the select board seat in Kennebunkport. Robin has a family history in our town going back for generations, and her knowledge of that history and very apparent love for this town shines through her words and her consistent involvement in town matters.

She is one of the few truly independent thinkers I have ever met and I believe her work will reflect that as she sees beyond the immediate into longer term consequences and the reality of the decisions that will need to be made. Please vote for Robin Phillips for the Kennebunkport Select Board.

Elizabeth Jordan

Kennebunkport

 

Commitment to

future of town

I am running for selectman again in Kennebunkport and asking for your support and vote on June 11. I have lived in Kennebunkport most of my life, except while attending Odessa and Midland colleges in Texas. My wife Wanda and I are the owners of Cape Porpoise Lobster Co., Port Lobster Co., and the Chowder House. I am the third generation of my family in the fishing industry in Kennebunkport and I have served as selectman for the last 18 years.

The town and its residents have been good to me all these years, and I have met a lot of nice people being a selectman along the way. I would still like to give something more back in return. I have a strong commitment to the future of the town and the community. I am a good listener and consider myself a fair-minded individual.

I do believe in a diverse community that includes a good school located in town, tourism, affordable housing, continued support of the fishing and agriculture communities and climate where local businesses can thrive while all town residents continue to enjoy this special town in which we live. I also believe in a stable tax rate.

I feel these are the very ideals that have made Kennebunkport a great place to live as well as raise a family. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at allen@capeporpoiselobster.com or 207-205-7949.

Allen A. Daggett

Kennebunkport

 

Admirable and

positive attributes

I have known Diane Franz for many years and consider her a great friend. Diane possesses many admirable, positive attributes, including diplomacy that brings an abundance of positive leadership to our local RSU 21 School Board.

Franz, due to an unexpected resignation late in 2023, was chosen by the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen to serve on the board until 2024. Franz has had the opportunity to work with the current members while forming familiarity with the procedures and requirements of being on our local school board.

From writers we hear of a candidate possessing many admirable qualities leading us to believe the candidate would be an asset once elected. We hear of educational and professional backgrounds. We hear personal opinions that seldom help us to clearly decide on whom to cast our vote. What will this candidate actually advocate for once elected?

I introduce you to Diane Franz. I offer the opportunity for you the reader to go to Diane Franz’s webpage, friendsforfranz, to find out what Franz will actually advocate for once elected to the RSU 21 School Board. One will also learn how Diane seeks to achieve the responsibilities that she states. No speculation; nothing left to chance and certainly no surprises as to what Diane will work toward once elected. I present the clear choice of Diane Franz.

Reg Champagne

Kennebunk

 

Would rather walk,

keep taxes in check

Do we really want to take over $5 million dollars from our unassigned fund balance to pay for another huge budget increase and a church that has not been maintained?

Please vote no on Questions A through D. The reasons are numerous. Our total operating expenses according to the town’s voter guide is increasing 28.7%, way above inflation. If approved, we are looking at an 8% increase in property taxes and more than 15% increase for the 1,000 seniors no longer protected by the state.

Question D is really about the 19 parking spaces near town hall. The cost of church maintenance that is not in Question D, but in the guide, is guesstimated to be up to another million dollars and more over 20 years.

If we, seniors, have to visit the town hall, we would rather walk and keep our taxes as low as possible.

Lionel and Cindi Menard

Kennebunk

 

Disturbed by town

council comment

I am writing in response to what I heard at Candidates Night last week at the Kennebunk Town Hall. I am a current member of the select board, not running for office and I am speaking for myself only, not as a representative of the current board.

I hesitated to write this letter, but I was very disturbed by what J.R. Fallon said when asked about which form of government he preferred, and I had to speak up. Mr. Fallon said he supports a select board instead of a town council and that’s perfectly fine, but it was his reason that shocked me. Evidently, he believes that if we had a council, that someone could buy their seat.

“You get into a position where you get to a town council and you have the authority to make decisions, seats can be bought … Who’s to say that that is not going to happen?”

He went on to suggest that Kennebunk could become a “mini D.C.” and concluded by saying, “I want to stay away from the possibility of people buying their seats and trying to change the landscape of this town.”

If Mr. Fallon thinks that this is a town where someone could actually buy a seat on a town council, he doesn’t know the people of Kennebunk very well. That suggestion is an insult to our intelligence as well as our morality and makes me question his suitability for representing us on the select board.

Miriam Whitehouse

Kennebunk

 

New energy

at 1 Summer St.

There’s lots of new energy and creativity at 1 Summer St. Several first-time public servants have recently been elected to select board seats, and we’ve gained a new town manager, finance director, and economic vitality director. We need a select board that will work well with this new team, balancing their fresh perspective and future orientation with a sound understanding of our town and the best means to tackle our challenges.

That’s why I support re-electing Lisa Pratt. She brings the quiet competence and steady intelligence we need in town government. In her first term, Lisa was vice chair of the Kennebunk Climate Action Task Force. Everything we value in our town depends on a smart response to the impacts of climate change. Lisa has helped formulate the plan to do so effectively and efficiently.

She supports investing in making Kennebunk more family-friendly: sidewalk, field, and playground improvements, safer roads and trails, and more access to Kennebunk Land Trust properties.

Lisa has made sustainability a priority, organizing a regional summit on food waste reduction and composting leading to a Food Diversion Grant the town hopes to receive this summer. With our solid waste and transfer station contracts coming to an end in 2025, we need Lisa’s experience guiding what the future of garbage, recycling, and compost collection will look like.

Bottom line, in the past three years, Lisa has built strong relationships with stakeholders throughout our community. Let’s put her vision and experience back to work for all of us.

Dan Sayre

Kennebunk

 

Reasonable voice

on school board

There is a reasonable voice on the school board. Diane Franz was selected for the school board seat that became available after a resignation. Diane has been on the school board for about nine months and is now running to fill out the vacated term. Though small in stature, Diane has a strength of character, wisdom, and ability to express herself in difficult situations such as those we are experiencing now on the school board. Hers is a voice of reason. She can critically assess the situation and find reasonable, good sense avenues of moving forward.

The issues of this past week cannot be quickly dismissed. No matter what happens to the budget on June 11, the deep-seeded problems in the school district will continue unless specific actions are taken. We need people like Diane to take an honest look at the concerns of teachers, parents, and community members to best serve our students. Recent issues are the culmination of a problem that has existed for too long, to the detriment of the students in our school system. I expect that this problem will not be resolved by a quick fix as it took years to come to this point and it will be years before we turn ourselves around and get back on track.

Academic performance has plummeted in Maine as seen in a recent chart from the National Center for Education Statistics. KHS may be second in the state, but it is 4,410 in the nation with the state of Maine dead last in the country. A reassessment in needed. We must elect Diane in June, and then again next year, to continue to inspire the spirit of excellence that we know is inherent in RSU 21.

Jane Evelyn

Kennebunkport

 

Follow-up is

exemplary, consistent

When I think about Fred Stafford, I think model public servant. Those of who have served with Fred on the Beach Advisory Committee have seen what dedication, commitment and hard work looks like. He’s often the first offer a hand or to volunteer. His follow-up is exemplary and consistent.

Fred is a great listener and is always thoughtful and sensible when he speaks. He’s a problem solver, he’s creative and smart and works hard to understand the perspectives of others as he strives to build consensus. As head of our communications subcommittee, he’s always on task and thinking ahead to the next opportunity or challenge.

Fred is always ready to face up to new challenges while mindful of our traditions. His participation in the town’s Climate Task Force shows his willingness to take up the tough questions that have been ignored for too long. The residents of Kennebunkport would be very lucky to have Fred Stafford as a new member on the Kennebunkport Select Board.

Paul Hogan

Kennebunkport

 

Open-minded

and objective

We support Fred Stafford for a position on the select board in Kennebunkport.. Fred has been coming to Kennebunkport since he was a child. He and his wife, Charlene, have owned a home here since 1998 and moved here full-time four years ago. When they became full-time, permanent residents, Fred committed himself to volunteering in service to our community.

First, he became the at-large member of the Beach Advisory Committee and then he was appointed to the Climate Action Planning Task Force. Both positions require an open-minded person who listens objectively to all sides of an issue. Fred has demonstrated that he takes all points of view seriously.

Fred is a dedicated citizen who stays current on important issues in our town, our state and our country. He has earned our confidence and our votes for selectman in the town of Kennebunkport.

Ann Corbey and Stephen Painter

Kennebunkport

 

Great integrity

and lifelong learner

I am writing in support of Kirstan Watson who is running as a school board member for RSU 21. I have known Kirstan for over 15 years. She is a person of great integrity and is an avid lifelong learner. She believes that quality education is paramount to raising current students into becoming the best prepared and productive, well rounded citizens for our communities.

What Kirstan will bring to the school board is a fresh perspective, dedication, and a mindset to put what is best for the school and children first when making very critical decisions. Kirsten Watson will have my vote and I urge all of you to get out and vote as well.

Peggy Hill

Arundel

 

Preserve community

with balanced perspective

I have lived in Kennebunk for 18 years and hope to live here for many more. When I first moved here in 2006 I was astounded at how Kennebunk had managed to stay such a wonderful quiet and peaceful place despite being relatively close to parts of New England that seemed to struggle to provide the quality of life we enjoy here. I immediately had appreciation for those who had worked to keep this such a nice place to live. Having grown up in an area that struggled to manage its growth well, I observed first hand how important it is to manage growth and change well in a way that preserves the community you have.

When I saw J.R. Fallon decide to run for Kennebunk select Board, I was intrigued and spent some time getting to know him, his background and reasons for running. I was very encouraged by what I found.

J.R is someone who wants to bring people together, cares about preserving our community and what makes it special as we grow, including our right to vote for important changes. J.R.is very driven to engage with as many people as possible to listen and learn about what is important to us before recommending changes. J.R also has a great resume for the role. His time advising military strategy in the US Airforce required him to understand incredibly complex situations with incredible amounts of technology, where the wrong strategy involved life or death consequences. J.R is also a practicing attorney in Kennebunk focused on multiple practice areas with a young family not yet in our school systems.

I find it a unique opportunity to have a local candidate with such a high level of important, relevant experience and drive, looking serve our community, meet as many people as possible, and seek to do what is best to preserve the place we call home with a balanced perspective.

We have three votes this election, either early or on June 11 for select board. My hope is that you will give J.R. one of your votes.

Adam Batchelder

Kennebunk

 

Privilege to

serve community

My name is Lisa Joy Pratt. I am a current member of the Kennebunk Select Board running for re-election. It is an honor and a privilege to serve my community. The trust placed upon me is never forgotten. I am very proud of my work and the decisions I have made in my first term. I am pleased with the example I have set for my children and their friends, showing them the importance of community service. Community service is not just essential, it’s what makes our community thrive.

Our leadership is strong and headed in the right direction, focusing on climate action and housing needs.

I have learned so much and am excited to share that knowledge. I wish to continue learning how to make Kennebunk a fantastic place to live, work, and visit. I look forward to serving Kennebunk on the select board for another three years. I am asking for your vote. Thank you.

Lisa Pratt

Kennebunk

 

Connect residents

to school board

Kennebunkport is home to me, my husband and three young children (and two dogs) and one of my top concerns as a candidate for the RSU 21 School Board is whether community members feel connected to what’s happening on the school board. I want to find ways to get you more informed and involved, meeting you where you are. You should feel welcomed and valued to share your voice, so that we can follow through on shared priorities.

A passion for teamwork, transparency, and solid financial management are assets I will bring to the board. Our kids and teachers are upfront in sharing their needs, and we should listen because they are relying on us to make the most of the dollars we have.

My career and life experience suit me for this important job. I am a mom, an employee, a former teacher, and a financially responsible and accountable professional and taxpayer. Currently I serve as head of scientific communications at Moderna, the company that produced a leading COVID-19 vaccine. Often I have to make complex ideas more generally understandable. I’m continually trying to do more with less, and to evaluate performance using measures that make sense. I want to bring these same skills to the school board.

For those residents without kids in the district, being a mom means I have stock in the company. This pushes me to focus on impact and success. Managing change and communicating effectively will be sorely needed in the years ahead. The board will need not just your tolerance but genuine support of budgets. I will work hard to ensure that we bring only necessary dollars forward where we also see a return.

Please feel free to connect with me: rachelkennedyphd@gmail.com. I would much appreciate hearing your views and concerns, and I will respond. See you at the polls on June 11.

Rachel Kennedy-Smith

Kennebunkport

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