ROCKLAND – Two Democrats will face off in Tuesday’s primary election for the right to be on the ballot in November for a seat on the Knox County board of commissioners.

Walter Breen, 70, of Thomaston and Ann Matlack, 48, of St. George both have experience in local government and both believe they would bring other valuable skills to the job.

The towns of Cushing, Friendship, Thomaston, St. George, Warren and Criehaven Plantation now are represented by Commissioner Mason Johnson of Thomaston. Johnson, an independent, is expected to seek re-election. No Republican has filed for the seat.

Breen has been a selectman in Thomaston for nine years, and is chairman of the board.

He also has served for 12 years on the board of directors of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

Breen worked at the Maine State Prison for 40 years. His duties included training guards to supervise prisoners, he said.

He believes his experience can be useful on the county board, since the county jail represents one of the largest items in the budget.

“I want to see if I can make a change,” he said. “I have a lot of reservations about a lot of the things that are going on.”

Though he is reluctant to discuss policy changes before studying them from the inside, Breen thinks the county could use inmate labor to reduce costs, perhaps at the county-owned airport.

Breen supports the airport, seeing it as a vital part of the local economy, but said he believes it could be operated more efficiently.

As a union negotiator at the prison for many years, Breen believes he could help the county with its personnel problems.

“I think I bring a lot to the table,” he said.

Matlack has served on the SAD 50 school board for six years, including a stint as board chairwoman. She is also a member of the St. George budget committee, and is a part owner of Market-on-Main in Rockland.

Most recently, Matlack completed a master’s degree in public policy and management at the Muskie School at the University of Southern Maine. Since she began the program, Matlack has observed county government closely.

“There’s an opportunity with county government,” she said, “to re-create it, turn it in a different direction to help people.”

While she believes “there’s too much government,” and doesn’t relish building up another layer, Matlack thinks county government could be restructured so it assists towns.

She avoids using the buzzword “regionalization,” favoring instead “collaboration.”

Like Breen, Matlack believes the county jail and Sheriff’s Department need the commissioners’ attention. A high rate of turnover at both the jail and Sheriff’s Department are problems, she said.

“I think professional management of the county as a whole would be of great benefit to the Sheriff’s Department,” Matlack said.

She believes the creation of a county administrator post – discussed two years ago – “is a very good idea.”

The airport will also garner a lot of attention from county government, she said, especially with changing federal regulations relating to anti-terrorism efforts.

“The cost is increasing exponentially,” she said.

The county must decide “what is it we want from our county airport,” Matlack said.