WINDSOR — A three-way race for two spots on the Windsor Board of Selectmen pits incumbent Ray Bates against two relative newcomers to town politics.
The top two vote-getters, out of Bates, Dustin Hinds and Bill Appel, will take the two spots on the board.
Bates has been on the board for the last nine years, previously served another three years as a selectman in the early 2000s, and has also served on the town Budget Committee and on the Planning Board.
“I want to continue the good work the Board of Selectmen has accomplished, we’ve had road improvements, transfer station improvements, improvements to town hall, a lot of things have happened in Windsor in the last nine years,” the 62-year-old Bates said. “With the road projects, we’re about 90 percent complete. I’d like to get to 100 percent.”
Appel, 51, who has served on the Planning Board for the last three years, said he’s running for selectman because he believes everybody should perform public service for their community.
“I just believe it is important to give something back, Windsor certainly gives me something, and everybody gets something from the town, so I’m stepping up to give back,” he said. “I’m not really running because of any particular issue. I like what I’ve observed in Windsor, and I like the people. There is no agenda, for me.”
Appel, who works in information technology at MaineGeneral Medical Center, and who holds degrees in zoology from the University of Maine at Orono and in computer information systems from the University of Maine at Augusta, said one way to potentially improve Windsor would be to work to make sure residents are engaged in town activities. He said doing so could help prevent people from becoming, as many seem to be when it comes to national politics, polarized to one extreme or the other.
“Windsor has had great community support, I’d hate to see that disappear,” he said. “I just believe everybody needs to work together in any small town.”
He said a key issue in town is the cost of education. He suggested addressing that by forming a five-year plan for the school district.
Bates, who works as a licensed water operator, graduated from Mid-State College with a degree in accounting and served in the U.S. Air Force for four-and-a-half years, said a good way to improve Windsor would be to finish the ongoing work on town roads which has taken place over the last several years. He said improvements could also be made to the transfer station such as, potentially, a roof over the bulk waste containers.
He said a big current issue is the school’s share of the overall budget, which he said makes up about 70 percent of spending in Windsor. He said there are no “burning issues” he’s aware of with town government.
“We’ve been pretty good about handling anything that comes up as a group,” Bates said. “We work on a consensus basis.”
Hinds could not directly be reached for comment last week. Reached by email, he did not respond to questions posed to him, and the other candidates, but did provide a statement about himself which was also published in the town report.
In it, he writes he is a software architect for IBM and has been in the information technology field since his enlistment in the U.S. Air Force in 1993. He said during his career he has managed many teams, managed budgets, found creative ways to reduce costs and provided feedback to management and customers to assist in their decision-making processes. He said he believes his experience would be of benefit to Windsor in keeping the town as efficient as possible.
Polls are scheduled to be open at town hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The Annual Windsor Town Meeting, at which voters will decide numerous articles related to the town budget, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, upstairs at town hall.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
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