Three candidates begin the race for two Brewer City Council seats

The campaign is on to claim two seats on the Brewer City Council. Michael Maybury, Alan Whittemore and Larry Doughty submitted nomination papers this week. The deadline was Wednesday.

Seeking election to the School Committee are incumbents Ruth-Marie Spellman and Thomas Manship. Edward Youngblood seeks re-election to the Brewer High School District Trustees.

Voters will go to the polls Monday, Sept. 30.

“I’m very concerned about the image that is being portrayed by Brewer,” Maybury said Wednesday. “The council has the opportunity to set the image for the community. Things do not look good,” Maybury said. “I feel I can make a difference.”

An industrial arts instructor at Old Town and a resident of North Brewer, Maybury served two consecutive terms on the council starting in 1979. He was defeated in the 1985 election when Councilors Doughty and Ronald Harriman were elected.

Maybury maintained that good communication would be the key to changing the city’s image. Communication can prevent issues from getting blown out of proportion, as issues have been known to do in Brewer, Maybury explained.

As the nation’s financial woes are being shifted to the municipalities, Maybury said, Brewer will have to prioritize expenses. “There are going to have to be some very serious decisions made,” he added.

Alan Whittemore is a Naval Reservist who recently returned from Naples, Italy. He serves in the military sealift command out of Bangor. A resident of North Brewer, Whittemore, 33, works in the University of Maine’s admissions office.

The uncleanliness of Naples played a part in his decision to run for the council. “I never want to see Brewer turn into a Naples,” said Whittemore. Whittemore said that if elected to the council, he will try to check spending without decreasing the city’s level of services such as plowing snow.

Concerned about residents’ ability to pay property taxes, Whittemore said he wants to monitor where the city gets its revenue. And he believes in recycling.

“I’d like to make Brewer a more attractive place for business,” he said. Businesses such as the WalMart retail store, being built on the Hogan Road in Bangor, should be enticed to come to Brewer, he said.

Doughty is seeking his third consecutive council term. “I feel quite confident that I’ll get re-elected,” he said Wednesday. “I’m continually working on behalf of the people,” Doughty said, adding he tries to solve residents’ problems quickly.

Doughty, 52, is manager of the state liquor store at the North Brewer Shopping Center.

Harriman announced earlier this month he will not seek re-election. He said his family played a major part in the decision.