Candidates Night Set for October 12

By Zendelle Bouchard

Sanford’s annual Candidates Night will take place October 12, 2023, live at City Hall. The public is welcome to attend. The event will be broadcast on local cable channels and live streamed by WSSR-TV on YouTube. It will also be recorded for later viewing.

Six candidates are vying for three seats on the City Council. Maura Herlihy, Oliver Jones III and Jonathan Martell are running for two 3-year seats; Victor DiGregorio, David Gomes and Nathanial Hitchcock are competing for a single 1-year term.

Candidates will each get one minute to make an introductory statement. During the Q&A portion of the evening, moderators Shawn Sullivan and Tammy Wells will ask a series of questions, with each candidate allowed 90 seconds to answer. The candidates will not know the questions in advance. After all the questions, each candidate will have two minutes to make a closing statement.

The moderators, along with this reporter, have come up with several questions, but they are looking for input from voters as well. What question would YOU like to ask all the candidates? Email your suggestions to Shawn Sullivan at ssullivan@seacoastonline.com no later than October 6, or message the SSN through our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SanfordSpringvaleNews/. Please include your full name and phone number for verification. Questions directed at a specific candidate will not be accepted.

Voters will also have the opportunity to cast votes for two School Committee seats, as well as one seat on the Sanford Water District Board of Trustees and two seats on the Sanford Sewerage District Board of Trustees. In those races, the incumbents are all running unopposed.

In addition to voting for local offices, there will be seven statewide ballot questions for voters to decide. The Secretary of State’s Office has compiled a Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election which is available here: https://cms5.revize.com/revize/sanford/Citizens%20Guide%20to%20Nov%20’23%20Referendum.pdf.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm. You may request an absentee ballot at https://apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/AbsenteeBallot/index.pl, or by calling the City Clerk’s office at 207-324-9125. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Thursday, November 2. Absentee ballots for requests already received have been mailed, and in-person absentee voting will be held at City Hall beginning Monday, October 2.

For more information on Candidates Night, contact Mayor Becky Brink at 207-651-4847 or email beckyabrink@gmail.com.