Candidates vie for Bangor city council spots

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BANGOR – Voters will elect three new city councilors in local elections on Nov. 4.

All three council incumbents – Mayor Nichi Farnham and Councilors John Rohman and Michael Crowley – have to step down, at least for now, under the provisions of the city charter, which requires councilors to take a year off after serving six consecutive years.

Earning a spot on this year’s city ballot are John Cashwell III, Peter D’Errico, Dr. Geoff Gratwick, John Hiatt, Michael J. Robinson, James Tyler and Torvic Vardamis.

. Cashwell, 56, is seeking a council seat for the second time. He said he’d like to use his experience in state and local government to help ensure Bangor is a city that values education, balances economic development and the environment and works regionally to provide facilities and opportunities for recreational, cultural and educational experiences for its residents.

His other goals for the city include balancing the need to provide services with sound fiscal management, encouraging continued downtown and waterfront growth through smart development and supporting affordable and competitive transportation options.

President of Seven Islands Land Co. and former director of the Maine Forest Service under Gov. John McKernan, he served on Gov. Angus King’s and Gov. John Baldacci’s transition teams.

Before moving to Bangor, he served two terms as a city councilor in Calais, where he was mayor in 1985.

A Vietnam veteran, he earned a Purple Heart, a Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous other military honors. He retired from the military as a chief warrant officer with 26 years of service, four years of active duty and 22 with the Army National Guard in Maine and Montana.

. D’Errico, 72, served a brief stint on the council in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He is better known, however, for his work coordinating the former Dow Air Force Base’s transition to civilian use.

After the base became Bangor International Airport, D’Errico served as its second manager, from 1970 through 1990, and later returned as assistant manager. He also worked for the city’s economic development department.

D’Errico said he wants to serve on the council again because of his love for Bangor, the hometown he adopted after he was stationed at Dow in the 1950s. After leaving the Air Force, he joined the Maine Air National Guard, staying through his retirement.

“People like to be in an area that offers good education, good health care and good neighborhoods,” he said. “Bangor has put its house in order and is ready to go forward into the world. Leadership is the answer for it,” he said, adding, “Leaders are willing to take risks.”

D’Errico has served on several boards, and is a recipient of the Bangor Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, the Maine Jaycees Outstanding Young Man Award and the Chamber’s Paul Bunyan Award.

. Gratwick, 60, is seeking his first council post.

“Bangor is a wonderful place to live and work,” he said. “This city has been very good to me and I look forward to giving something back.

“I am committed to a healthy community. Our health goes hand in hand with more and better jobs, a growing economy, good schools, a solid infrastructure, fair taxes and a stimulating social and cultural environment,” he said.

As a rheumatologist, he cares for arthritis patients from Waterville to Fort Kent and is on the medical staffs at Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital.

“As a doctor, I have learned to listen, how to evaluate problems carefully before acting,” he said. “I am a moderate, a consensus builder and can get things done.”

As chairman of Physicians for Social Responsibility of Eastern Maine from 1982 to 1988, Gratwick represented Maine at a Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Olso, Norway, in 1985. He belongs to the Bangor Noontime Rotary and was chairman of the Maine Humanities Council in 2002-03.

. Hiatt, 20, is a first-time candidate. A University College of Bangor student, he is active in the Penobscot County Republican Committee and president of UCB’s Republican Committee.

“I am running for Bangor City Council for three major reasons: to provide affordable housing for middle class and low-income families, to help provide better special education for both kids and adults and to provide tax relief to senior citizens,” he said. “Having the least experience doesn’t stop me from wanting to work on these issues.”

Concerning housing, Hiatt said Bangor faces a crisis in that many working class and low-income people can’t afford to live in decent homes. Those who can afford to pay often find no vacancies.

He said the city must ensure all residents receive a quality education and that more funds are needed for special education. He said schools should teach more technical skills because such skills can be used locally.

Hiatt said he believes senior citizens deserve a tax break because they’ve worked all their lives, raised their children and have cared for sick spouses.

“I would also like to say that I am against the racino. I do not think that jobs should be created off of the misery and addictions of citizens,” he said.

. Robinson, 48, is a loan officer for Bangor Federal Credit Union. A first-time council candidate, Robinson said he believes he can offer his community a record of experience in business as well as government and community service.

“I believe we need to fix our aging sidewalks in our neighborhoods, slow down the traffic near our parks and schools for the safety of our children and make a commitment to plowing and sanding all our sidewalks for the safety of our seniors,” he said.

He said he also supports keeping Bangor’s harness-racing industry and related industries alive and that the city must stay committed to its ongoing waterfront redevelopment program.

“As one small advance toward this end, I propose that we make a commitment to bring the Bangor Symphony back to Bangor as soon as possible,” he said, noting that it plays in Orono.

A member of the Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis, Robinson has served that organization as president and as chairman of the Fourth of July parade. He is a trustee of the city’s Kirstein Loach Committee and worked in the city’s tax office for seven years. He is a volunteer with the Special Olympics and the local homeless shelter and a communicant at St. John’s Catholic Church.

. Tyler is a former councilor who served 1993-99 and a planning board member from 1989 to 1993. He said he is seeking a council position now because he wants to offer the city leadership.

“Given the policy and fiscal challenges faced by the city, and with three experienced councilors stepping down, we need experienced leadership,” Tyler said this week.

“I believe that my experience and understanding of the issues enables me to offer knowledge, insight and an immediate positive contribution,” he said.

He is operations manager for Northern Maine Independent System Administrator, a three-person nonprofit FERC-regulated wholesale energy provider for Aroostook and Washington counties. He also has worked as a general manager for Bangor Gas Co. and as an engineer for Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and the Edwards Co.

His public service activities have included serving on the boards of the homeless shelter and the Bangor Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility. He also served on the Governor’s Task Force on Bangor International Airport and on the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System’s policy committee.

. Vardamis, 23, is making his third attempt at a council seat.

“I am determined to accomplish this goal,” he said. “I pride myself on being an advocate for the citizens of Bangor.

“I often hear world and local leaders talk about how to improve the quality of life for ‘younger generations.’ I am a member of this younger generation who doesn’t want to wait until I’m older to accomplish what I can do now.”

To that end, he said he would work to bring smart development and good-paying jobs to the city and to cut property taxes without affecting the quality of education.

“I want to ensure that Bangor is a place where youth and all citizens can thrive – a place they can take pride in,” he said.

A University of Maine student, he is a member of the city’s recycling committee and urban renewal authority, an intern for U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, manager of a locally owned video business and Web site designer and developer. He has also volunteered for several organizations, including United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters.