Staff Writer
HOULTON — Honesty, integrity and good common sense were just a number of characteristics that candidates touched base on during Monday night’s Candidate’s Forum. 
CANDIDATES — Six individuals are running for town council this November. From left are: Phil Bernaiche, Sue Tortello, Dr. Paul Romanelli, Stan Ginish, Carl Lord Jr. and John Fitzpatrick.
Town council hopefuls came together for a question-and-answer period in hopes of gaining more support from Houlton voters. Residents were given ample time to submit questions and viewers of the forum were allowed to call in their questions as well. The Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce hosted the evening with local merchant Galen Wilde moderating.
Six individuals are vying for three positions — one one-year term and two three-year terms. Councilors Sue Tortello and Carl Lord are in a race for the one-year position, while Councilor Paul Romanelli is looking to hold onto his seat as former councilors Phil Bernaiche, John Fitzpatrick and local activist Stan Ginish attempt to take hold of the remaining three-year seat.
Judging by the questions, it appeared as though the voters were looking to find out where each candidate stood on matters such as economic development, residency and basic qualifications. The issue of Houlton International gained more attention as voters waited to hear what each candidate thought would be the most ideal solution for the former industrial complex. Most candidates agreed that disposing of the building would not benefit the Shiretown Development Corporation in its efforts of bringing economic development. The issue of asbestos and its removal has been the focal point of recent SDC meetings and whether or not to take the building down and sell its steel for scraps.
“Asbestos really isn’t an issue,” explained Fitzpatrick. “I think we should use the building.”
Fitzpatrick felt the building, even in its current state, still held value for the town and that demolishing the structure would be a loss. Councilor Lord agreed, however he acknowledged that something needed to be done with the building before its ongoing expenses emptied the SDC’s coffers.
“This is a monster,” said Lord. “We have to do something with it. It’s eating us alive and it is depleting that account fairly well.”
Lord did suggest that the most ideal use for the structure would be to keep it for storage.
Ginish felt the SDC had held onto the building long enough and that the organization needed to get rid of it once and for all.
“Our economic development with the SDC building is terrible,” he said.
The original estimate of the building’s value Ginish said, has decreased since the town’s re-valuation and is now worth approximately $244,000 — a fraction of what it was estimated at when the SDC first acquired the property.
Romanelli said he would like to see job creation result from the property, however, he said he understood that holding onto it may not be beneficial for the town.
“We’re still working on best possible solutions,” he said. “We have to do something to preserve the bank account.
Tortello said the organization needed to move forward and explore all the options that could be available and not just take the first one that comes.
“We do need to collect some more information and take some time to make a wise decision,” she said.
Bernaiche told viewers that he examined the building recently and he felt there was potential for its use.
“If I had to vote to make a decision, I would certainly not tear it down or sell it,” he said.
Most candidates agreed with another question raised concerning the use of economic consultants. Although some felt the use of Brian Hamel might not have resulted in much, his efforts did benefit the town.
“Having Brian Hamel was a good move on our part,” explained Tortello. “We need to start looking at Houlton the way outsiders see us. We have a lot of things that people would give their eyeteeth for.”
Tortello highlighted the town’s location as a border town, as well as its port of entry to Canada as assets. Candidates agreed that having an economic consultant was the right thing to do, but that people needed to understand that economic development was not going to happen over night.
“Economic development is a process,” said Fitzpatrick. “It isn’t going to happen today or tomorrow. It takes time and patience.”
Lord echoed Fitzpatrick, adding that he was also in support of hiring Hamel as well.
“We needed someone to think outside of the box,” he explained. “The town manager got a lot of education out of this and so did SDC. Hamel did educate the town quite a bit.”
Other questions posed to the candidates proved to be a bit too personal for some. Although, a number of candidates showed no hesitancy in providing their personal tidbits to the viewers.
“I’m one of those pay-as-you-go citizens,” remarked Bernaiche. “I pay every month on my taxes.”
Tortello, Romanelli, Lord and Fitzpatrick acknowledged that they contributed to the town by paying their home, vehicle and even dog licensing, however, Ginish felt the question was not relevant to the forum.
“That is a matter between the tax person and the DMV,” he said.
Questions of qualifications were addressed and each candidate felt they were qualified because they were a contributing citizen to the town.
The two-hour long forum served as a medium for voters to get a good look at their candidates before the Nov. 6 vote.
