Five candidates are vying to replace Hope Cahan and Amy Kuhn, who are not seeking reelection, on the Falmouth Town Council: Sean Burke, Regina Coleman, Alisa Conroy Morton, Sean Mahoney and Jack Uminski.
Besides Sean Mahoney, none have previously held a seat on Town Council.
Each candidate identified navigating growth and development as one of the biggest challenges facing town leadership.
Falmouth has experienced double-digit population growth since 2010 – though its population is aging and the town has seen a decline in the number of students enrolled in Falmouth Public Schools. Meanwhile, median home prices have surged, jumping 140% between 2013 and 2023. Falmouth’s housing supply has not kept up with demand, and existing stock leaves few options for middle income workers or seniors who want to downsize.
These trends are not unique to Falmouth; a number of them are seen statewide.
Against that backdrop, the Town Council will soon vote on whether to adopt Falmouth’s updated Comprehensive Plan, which will guide how it tackles development and land use, among other town priorities. The council and town staff also are spearheading a project to build 49 units of workforce housing on 25 acres of town-owned land next to the police department on Marshall Drive off Woods Road – though the project has encountered pushback on a number of fronts.
Some residents have voiced opposition to the project, saying it would increase traffic, have negative environmental impacts and isn’t truly affordable.
As proposed, the 49 units would be sold to people making up to 120% of the area median income. For a Falmouth household in that range, a $419,773 house is considered affordable.
The Town Council may soon enter into a development agreement for the project that would map it out in greater detail, according to Adam Causey, the town’s long-range planning director. The project has not yet gone before the Planning Board.
The Forecaster asked each candidate where they stand on the workforce housing project and about their priorities if elected. They emailed their responses.
Burke
Burke
Burke is originally from Ohio but has lived in Falmouth since 2007. He is a retired chief human resources officer in the private sector.
He told The Forecaster that a vote for him is a vote for “transparency, fiscal accountability, diversity of thought and perspective, and constructive and creative problem solving.”
He’s running “to keep Falmouth the best town in Maine.” If elected, he says he would do that by making sure residents have a voice, and aligning his decisions and actions with the town’s Vision and Values Report – a document published in 2022 that identified core “pillars” to guide the town in the future, based on community input.
The pillars outlined in the Vision and Values Report formed the basis of the town’s new Comprehensive Plan.
Burke called the current workforce housing proposal at Marshall Drive “troubling.” It does not align with the Vision and Values pillars, he said, and he takes issue with the project’s location, questions whether it is truly affordable, and says the traffic generated will make Woods Road less safe, among other objections.
“This project on that site should not go forward before we exhaust all viable options to purchase land on Route 1 or Route 100 for workforce housing,” he wrote.
Coleman
Coleman
Regina Coleman has lived in Falmouth for eight years. She’s running for the council, she said, because she wants to be more “engaged in (her) community and serve (her) neighbors in a meaningful way.”
“Falmouth is facing challenges of growth, as is the rest of Maine. As a community, we should face these challenges head-on and be more proactive,” she wrote.
She highlighted that she would like to see more bike lanes in Falmouth. “Such additions can make the community more accessible, encourage exercise, and (be) beneficial to the environment,” she wrote. She would also prioritize bringing residents together through community activities. If elected, she said she would help spearhead new festivals and programming for children.
Coleman was previously a researcher, and in 2023 she graduated from the University of Maine School of Law. She was also previously a teacher with the Chicago Public Schools and the president of the Falmouth Parent-Teacher Organization between August 2018 and June 2019.
Coleman did not respond to a question regarding the workforce housing project on Marshall Drive before the Northern Forecaster’s print deadline.
Mahoney
Mahoney has lived in Falmouth since 1998 and raised his three children in the community.
Mahoney
He previously served one term on the Town Council, elected in 2012. He chose not to run for a second term because of work commitments, though has stayed engaged with the council’s work. Now that he’s an “empty-nester” and has more work flexibility, he decided to run again.
He identified providing “affordable housing” and “thoughtful development” in commercial zones as priorities that Falmouth must tackle.
When it comes to the Marshall Drive project, he said he’s in favor of the effort to address Falmouth’s housing shortage.
“With a current average price of $800,000 to buy a home in Falmouth, it’s just not within reach of many who make the average income in the area. And such an average price would have meant that many of us who moved to Falmouth 20 or 30 years ago would be precluded from doing so today,” he said. The housing website Zillow currently puts the average home value in Falmouth at roughly $850,000.
“That just doesn’t feel right to me,” he added.
If elected, he wants to oversee “continued excellence in our schools and … delivery of municipal services, continued support for the conservation and stewardship of our parks, open spaces and waterfront, and fostering open and respectful discussion,” he said.
Mahoney is an environmental lawyer and currently serves as vice president and senior counsel for an environmental advocacy organization. He also is a past president of the Falmouth Land Trust.
Morton
Morton
Morton, a public relations and communications professional who has lived in Falmouth since 2015, says she’s running because she’s passionate about community service and excels at finding “common ground among differing perspectives to achieve meaningful progress.”
“As our town evolves and attracts new opportunities, it’s essential to strike a delicate balance between progress and preservation,” Morton said. “Our biggest challenge is responsibly managing growth and development while safeguarding the cherished essence of Falmouth.”
When it comes to the Marshall Drive project she said that she “commend(s) the council’s efforts to expand accessible options in Falmouth,” but has reservations about the project. She wants more due diligence around the sale of the land before the town goes through with it, citing what she described as “unclear impacts on infrastructure and the natural environment,” and “concerns around financial accountability.”
Before the project moves forward, she would like to see a number of things, including a “thorough environmental impact study” and “clearer alignment with the Comprehensive Plan.”
“Vote for me because I bring a fresh perspective, a strong dedication to transparency and collaboration, and a track record of navigating complex environments in a manner that generates positive outcomes,” she added.
In general, she would make “informed decisions rooted in facts, data, and thorough due diligence” and seek to align the Town Council’s actions with the Comprehensive Plan.
Morton is originally from the North Shore of Chicago.
Uminski
Uminski
Jack Uminski’s pitch to voters is: “Keep Falmouth rural and independent of Portland.”
Uminski, who has lived in Falmouth since 2004, was involved in an effort to place a referendum on the Nov. 7, 2023, ballot to decrease the height limit of buildings in the town center, which passed by over a thousand votes. “Those who voted ‘yes’ on the building height initiative can expect me to bring the same view to the Town Council,” he said.
In general, he is motivated to serve community members who are in favor of slow growth.
On the Marshall Drive project, Uminski said he takes issue with the project because of its location. Also, in his opinion the units would not be truly affordable.
Uminski spent his early career working in masonry construction and later taught for eight years at a vocational high school in Phoenix, Arizona. He eventually learned Spanish and became a Spanish teacher, working at schools in both Arizona and Maine.
He is president of the Falmouth Woods Association.
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