Dennis Woodruff: Candidate for City Council

The three candidates to fill the vacant seat on the City Council were asked to submit a statement of 500 words or less on what they think are the three greatest challenges facing Sanford and how they would address those challenges as a member of the City Council. They were asked to be as specific as possible.

As a candidate for a position on the City Council, I have been asked to provide a statement relating to what issues I am concerned with, and what action I would take to address those issues.

My first issue would be with taxes. Good Lord Taxes! Please know that I understand the need for taxes to provide the services that we, the citizens, need. Fire Dept., Police Dept., Schools, Sanitation, Roads and Public services come to mind. After those needs are met, I am concerned with where else our taxes go.

Secondly… The roads! As I have traveled around York County, I have noted that as soon as I cross any town line into Sanford, the roads change dramatically, and not for the better. It’s, frankly, embarrassing. Although I’m seeing some recent improvements, we still have a long way to go. Main St. / 109 and 202 from Alfred to Mount Hope come to mind

Thirdly… Our parks. We have some very lovely parks. But enough already. We built a very nice one at the dam, and even threw in public restrooms. But, they are of course locked to the public. Why? I think we know why. Which is another issue. Let’s focus elsewhere for now.

Another issue? Drugs. Hard drugs. Time to crack down (pun intended).

As for what action I would take in addressing these issues, I can only state that I have many questions, and would look forward to taking them up with the committee members.

Thank you for this opportunity.

VOTE!

Dennis Woodruff

The candidates have each been invited to speak for five minutes about their backgrounds and qualifications at the next City Council meeting on June 7.

Election Day is June 14, 2022. Got to sanfordmaine.org/voterregistration for more information, or to request an absentee ballot.