CALAIS – Select Board Chair Anne Winchester, running unopposed for the remaining year of a 3-year term, answered the Gazette’s questions:
Why are you running for select board?
Winchester: Last year every member of the select board was brand new. We quickly realized that running a small rural town today is complicated and time consuming. [It’s] probably not possible for volunteers who have jobs and families to do without help. We focused on reorganizing our town staffing system and getting them the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. We now have a wonderful staff managing the daily running of our town. I had originally planned to serve only one year in order to help the new select board get started but am now thinking that one more year of the five of us working together would help to solidify the gains we have made in the last year. That is why I am running for the one year seat.
What experience do you bring to the position that will benefit your town?
Winchester: Aside from having served with the current members through learning our jobs, managing a flood, and restructuring our town government, I spent most of my career (I’m now retired) working and volunteering in state and local government.
What do you see as the most important issues facing your town?
Winchester: Calais has a long and proud history of working together to conserve our natural beauty and wildlife habitat. This is one of the things that makes Calais a very desirable place to live. Unfortunately, like most towns, we also lack enough housing, particularly affordable housing, and enough childcare to make it easy for young people to live here. I think we need to think hard about whether our policies and regulations have struck the right balance. Our planning commission is just now beginning the process of reworking the town plan so the next year or so will be a good time for our community to talk about how we would like to grow and develop in the next few years.
What is your town doing to be a good place to live and for families to raise children?
Winchester: There is so much going on in Calais: theater, community dinners, community events for families and children. Most of these are run by volunteers who give freely of their time to make Calais an amazing place to live.
