New citizens eager to cast first vote

BANGOR – Fred Candeloro is casting his ballot on Tuesday for President Bush.

It’s the first time the Kokadjo resident will be able to vote, even though he’s lived for 30 years in the tiny community 18 miles north of Greenville.

Candeloro, 48, was one of 41 men and women who became U.S. citizens Friday at a naturalization ceremony held at the James F. Doughty Middle School in Bangor.

“After nine-eleven, I made the decision it was time to take a break away from the business and study to become a citizen,” Candeloro said Friday after the ceremony, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. “I love this country. It’s the greatest country in the world.”

Students joined the family members and friends of the new citizens for an hour-long program presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk.

Immigration officials earlier this week attributed the unusually large number of applicants for citizenship to the upcoming presidential election. Last year, 28 people became citizens in March, while another 29 took the oath in August.

Candeloro came to the United States from Pettorano, Italy, when he was 10 years old. He was the youngest of five children and the last of his siblings to become a citizen. He and his wife, Marie, 51, own and operate Kokadjo Camps and Trading Post on First Roach Pond.

He will cast his ballot for the first time in Greenville, because Kokadjo is an unorganized territory and does not have a town hall.

Ron Mashure, 68, of Sidney, Candeloro’s friend of 30 years, said Friday after the ceremony that while he is proud of his friend, he’ll miss being able to say, “If you don’t shape up, we’ll deport you.”

Unlike Candeloro, James Mah Doe, 38, of Ellsworth was keeping his choice for president private. But he said his first stop after the ceremony would the Ellsworth City Hall so he could register to vote.

A native of Liberia, Doe came to Maine in 1996 to attend Maine Maritime Academy. He met his wife, Stacey Doe, 33, at a Bangor club, and the two were married four years ago. He has been working as a maritime engineer since graduating from MMA.

“I wanted to be a citizen because I want to vote,” he said after the ceremony. “I wanted the freedom of the United States, and I will be proud to travel on a United States passport.”

Ryan Larochelle, 13, student president of the middle school, led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance as the ceremony closed. He said that in classes this week students had discussed what is required to become a U.S. citizen. “We talked about how lucky we are that we were born here and didn’t have to study and take a test to be citizens,” he said. “But it was a really fun experience to see what happens here [at the ceremony].”