NEW SHARON — Scott Nichols Sr., sheriff of Franklin County, and Milton Sinclair have expressed interest in serving on the Board of Selectmen.
Voters will gather at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 18, at Cape Cod Hill School for a special town meeting to fill the seat of Forrest Bonney until the March 2016 town meeting, Town Clerk Susan Anneley, said. Candidates are nominated from the floor.
Bonney announced his intention to resign after Selectman Maynard Webster was voted out at the March town meeting. Other than Webster, who held the seat for nearly 40 years, there is not much experience on the board, Bonney said.
Bonney has three years experience and the new chairman, Lorna Nichols, wife of Scott Nichols Sr., has one year. Travis Pond was elected in March to fill Webster’s seat.
“I decided that I did not what to pick up the pieces and learn the job quickly,” Bonney said. “I thought one more three-year term for Webster would have been a good chance to learn.”
Nichols said he was prompted to run for the position because of residents’ concerns since Bonney’s announcement. Nichols said he hopes to calm concerns by adding his abilities to an already capable board.
“I am going to run because, although I have not held this position, I am very familiar with the process involved with the job and the hours of dedication it entails,” he said.
Nichols said he gained knowledge from watching his wife work on issues and has read the research she has done on them.
A check with Maine Municipal Association indicated family members can serve together and a sheriff can serve as selectman, he said.
Nichols said he could assure residents that the couple will not vote as a block.
“We are both very strong willed, business-like people with our own opinions,” he said.
Nichols has attended many board meetings and is part of a committee for a new fire station and how to fund it.
While Sinclair acknowledges his friendship and respect for Nichols, he also feels the town needs more representation on the board and an alternative.
Although Sinclair has not previously run when several have asked him to, he has kept up on town business, he said.
“I’ve regularly observed and commented,” he said.
Sinclair said his experiences in life and knowledge of the town could help.
“Because the board is young in experience, I’d like to help out a little,” he added.
Sinclair and his wife, Charlotte, came to New Sharon in 1972 to run a farm on the Starks Road. He sold his cattle in 1998 and later went to work for Paris Farmers Union and was manager of the farm sales division for a few years. He continues as a road farm sales representative for the company.
Sinclair said he is a fiscal conservative.
Sinclair has experience as a director on farming organizations such as Agri-Mark Inc., the Breeding Co-op known as Genex and on the Farm Bureau Board. A longtime referee and coach, he has also led meetings of sports officials, he said.
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