Rockland council candidates debate issues

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ROCKLAND – City council candidates answered some tough questions Wednesday night during a formal debate, even a curveball thrown by seven-time mayor and presiding Councilor Tom Molloy.

Toward the end of the one-hour session, Molloy asked each candidate to answer “based on the facts – who [are you] rooting for tonight – the Yankees or the Red Sox?”

All three candidates – Carol Maines, Adele Grossman Faber and Harold “Hal” Perry favored the Red Sox.

Only a dozen political fans attended the Candidates Night sponsored by The Courier-Gazette newspaper.

The few residents, however, pitched many questions at the three candidates, who are running for two three-year seats that are open. Mayor Edward Mazurek is departing the council to run as a Democrat for the House District 47 seat. Councilor Mark Curtis is not seeking re-election.

The candidates fielded questions from residents and Courier-Gazette News Editor Stephen Betts, who moderated the debate.

Maines, 56, was mayor from 2000 to 2001, during her three-year term on the council. She presently sits on the planning commission and was previously a member of that board.

The Dayton, Ohio, native was Rockland’s city attorney for seven years and has practiced privately in Portland and Rockland. Maines earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law.

Faber, 64, was the city’s election clerk and then election warden from 1989 to 2004. She recently resigned as warden to run for a council seat. She also served three years in the mid-1980s as a SAD 5 director. She is presently chairwoman of the Board of Assessment Review.

The Rockland native has been married for 39 years to former Judge Barry Faber. The couple has two children and three grandchildren.

Faber earned a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and worked as a research assistant at Harvard University until she married. While raising her children, she volunteered in the schools.

Perry, 40, is assistant manager at Flagship Cinemas in Thomaston and is working toward a bachelor’s degree at Husson College. He is majoring in accounting and worked in that field for Emery Waterhouse in Portland.

The East Vassalboro native is a member of the city’s personnel board, Rockland Kiwanis and is a Maine Lobster Festival director. He served on the city’s ad hoc committee to study the Palesky tax referendum.

Last year, Perry lost his bid for a council seat against incumbent Brian Harden. He moved to Rockland six years ago.

During opening statements and questioning, Perry and Maines indicated opposition to the Palesky tax cap, which would restrict property tax rates to $10 per $1,000 of assessed values.

The city “must be prepared,” Perry said, which requires setting priorities and ensuring that department requests are necessary.

Whether or not the tax cap passes, councilors need to address issues like services and program cuts, user fees, regionalization, and operations, Maines said.

Faber said the tax cap is “taking time away from business at hand.” She took no position on the proposed cap, saying it was a question for the Legislature.

When asked if the city should privatize departments, Maines and Perry were opposed, saying they would rather see regionalization efforts. Faber suggested the recreation department become privately run.

Councilor Brian Harden asked each candidate how they would vote if they were councilors when the city opted for a $300,000 independent revaluation.

Maines’ response was indecisive.

“State law requires us to do this,” Faber said, insisting the city “should have planned for it” by saving.

Perry supports the revaluation to be “fair to everybody.”

Rodney Lynch, the city’s community development director, asked candidates which positions they would cut if Palesky passes.

All of the candidates stated there are other ways to trim costs without eliminating jobs, such as raising revenues through increased building permit fees and by enforcement of laws, like parking tickets.

According to Faber, there is more than $10,000 worth of unpaid parking tickets from January through August filed at City Hall.

“There’s a lot of money out there,” she said, referring to fines and fees that are not enforced.

“We have to look at all the options before we ax jobs,” Perry said.

“I think Mr. Lynch is on the block with this,” Maines said, referring to one of the study committee’s suggested cuts.

She does not favor cutting the community development director’s position, she said, because it generates many revenues through grants. Other positions recommended for elimination also are needed, she said.