I was born and raised in Maine, Augusta and Winthrop. I worked away for a while but came back to Maine in 2001. I moved to Brunswick in 2008 to take a position at Bowdoin College and now live on Sparwell Lane in the Meadowbrook neighborhood.
Why am I running for this opening? I've been doing volunteer work in Brunswick through multiple committees for many years and would like to have a more active role in dealing with some of our most pressing issues. I think Steve Walker was doing a good job, but since he is leaving District 2, I felt there was an opportunity for me to do more.
There are a number of pressing issues for Brunswick. We need to have strategies for dealing with the increasing environmental changes but also need to keep focused on affordability. The rapid pace of development in Brunswick has not resulted in a lower cost of living. I don't want to loose good residents because they cant afford to live here. Access to Brunswick's almost 70 mile waterfront is a challenge to both recreation and traditional working waterfront activities. There is a lot of work to be done with the former base, now Brunswick Landing. Not just on redevelopment but dealing with legacy pollutants that still effect the land and water. Some of the negative impacts on our community from the recent PFAS spill may not arrive for years. We need to be ready.
I'd like to see more development tied to infrastructure updates that benefit greater Brunswick. We can provide support and incentives for homeowners to invest in upgrades that reduce the cost of heating their homes. Brunswick will need help from State and Federal agencies to deal with the unfolding PFAS issue. We need to keep reaching out for funding and expertise to support remediation efforts to clean up soil and water. Transparency and outreach are key to resident buy in.
I have a background in Biology and have worked in a variety of institutions. I've been on the Brunswick Marine Resources Committee for 8 years. I've been chairperson of the Rivers and Coastal Waters Commission for the last 5 years helping to support efforts like revitalizing the Simpsons Point Boat Launch to make it a safer more accessible recreational site, promote awareness of local water quality issues and provide information to the public regarding activities effecting Brunswick's coastline. I've served on the Simpsons Point Citizens Advisory Committee, the Mare Brook Watershed Management Implementation Committee and the Marine Activities/Shellfish Ordinance Rewrite Task Force. I've also recently started to meet with a citizen work group to develop a pesticide and fertilizer management plan. All of these experiences have come with learning curves on how to get things done in Brunswick. I've also been on the Brunswick Community Education Foundation's (BCEF) Board of Directors for the last 3 years. We raise money to fund small grants to Brunswick school teachers for innovative or supportive programming that did not get funding through the district.