http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/...-newcomer-vie-for-mayors-seat_2011-04-25.html
WATERVILLE -- A political newcomer seeking dramatic change is facing a veteran city council chairman in the June 14 mayor's race.
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Dana Sennett
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Andrew Roy
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Andrew G. Roy, a Republican and self-employed disc jockey, is running against City Council Chairman Dana W. Sennett, D-Ward 1.
Roy and Sennett were the only candidates to file the 15 to 25 petition signatures from each ward by the April 15 deadline, according to City Clerk Arlene Strahan.
Andrew G. Roy
Roy, 36, said he had planned to run for mayor when he was a little older, but when he read in the newspaper that the Republican party caucus, held March 14, produced no candidate for the position, he decided to run.
"That's not a true democracy," Roy said. "We have to have two parties in order to have a fair choice. I felt called to go do it. I grew up United Pentecostal, so I have a pretty good connection with my higher power."
Roy is a 16-year member of Maine Vocals, a group seeking to legalize marijuana. He said he does security work for the organization.
"I'm pushing for people's freedoms," he said.
He is disabled and a medical marijuana patient. He became paralyzed from the neck down in 1992 from Guillain-Barre syndrome, he said. Guillain-Barre is an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system.
While he continues to be in a lot of pain, he is no longer paralyzed, he said.
"I chose medical marijuana over 'oxy' that they tried to prescribe," he said.
If elected mayor, Roy said he wants to talk to police Chief Joseph Massey about the Police Department.
"The whole gestapo thing's got to be cut down," he said.
"We need police reform; education reform is a big one. I'd also like to see the spending stop."
He said he opposes the city's proposal to spend $6.4 million on capital projects.
"It's excessive spending in a time when we don't know we'll have more (money) coming," he said. "We need business growth before we can spend a dime. We also need more Republicans on the council. I'd like to see more Republicans involved. They're (Democrats) going to spend, spend, spend, spend. The roads are falling apart."
Roy, whose ultimate goal is to become governor, said he is concerned about people taking illegal drugs and with people selling them on the streets.
"We have a big problem in this area," he said. "Doctors aren't being held accountable for any of it, and the taxpayers are paying for it all."
He cited the methadone clinic on Airport Road as a problem.
"I think it should be eliminated," he said. "I think it's just as much an expense as that thing (sculpture) in The Concourse. It (methadone clinic)'s the same kind of eyesore. People weren't asked for a vote on it. That's a big issue."
Roy said that between 2004 and 2008, he had a job working for an agency in South Paris and driving MaineCare patients to appointments in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook. Sixty percent of those people needed to go to methadone clinics, he said.
"I helped one person get off it (methadone). It took two years to do so."
When he moved back to Waterville in 2008, he registered as a Republican, according to Strahan, the city clerk.
Roy says that as far as he knows, he is no relation to Michael Roy, the city manager.
Dana W.Sennett
Sennett, 59, said he is running for mayor because he has enjoyed his work on the council and wants to continue serving the residents of the city in a more involved position.
"I'm very impressed with the current administration and department heads," Sennett said Monday. "We've been very fortunate to have a stable group of individuals that are currently serving in department head capacities, especially Mike Roy, city manager. Mike and I both grew up in the city and have been close friends for many years through athletics -- both playing on Waterville High School, state and New England hockey championships in the '70s, and remaining friends and now city business partners."
In his 15 years on the council, Sennett has been involved in a number of projects. The one he counts a "shining star" is the development in the late 1990s of the recreational area on North Street -- the municipal pool and athletic fields, he said.
"Everyone in the city can be proud of those facilities," he said. "Also, I think establishing TIF (tax increment financing) districts within the city that have attracted development -- namely, the Hathaway Creative Center and the Home Depot and Walmart developments -- have been a positive effect on the city."
Sennett said he recognizes there are roads in disrepair in the city, but some major ones have been improved.
"We have rebuilt Washington Street, Chase and College avenues and Kennedy Memorial Drive. They have all been rebuilt and improved in my time on the City Council. If I had to have a wish list, I would like to see more jobs created within the city because if we're going to attract a young population, then we're going to have to bring new job opportunities, and that might take some time."
Sennett said he recognizes that the communities bordering Waterville, including Winslow, Oakland and Fairfield, play an integral part in bringing people to the Waterville area, and the city must continue to work with those towns.
He said he enjoys his job on the council, as well as his involvement in the Alfond Youth Center, Waterville Development Corp. and other community activities.
"I love the complexity of the Waterville community," he said. "We have the old traditions that live on, that we are passing on to our youth, and I love the new people that are coming in, bringing their own traditions and introducing us to new technologies and cultures."
Sennett said he wants to ensure the city continues to provide the excellent quality education it does now.
"It always impresses me that graduating classes from Waterville have had individuals excel at the level that they're able to attract major universities throughout the world," he said. "Education is where it's at."
Strahan said Monday that whomever is elected will serve as mayor through December, filling the unexpired term of Paul LePage, who left the mayor's seat in January to become governor.
Another mayoral election will be held as part of the Nov. 8 election, and the candidate who wins that mayor race will take office Jan. 3, 2012 and serve a three-year term, Strahan said.
The mayoral election will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 14 at the American Legion hall on College Avenue.
Mayoral candidates who took out petition papers but did not submit them to the clerk's office were Whitney Blakeslee and Nathaniel White, Strahan said.
Amy Calder -- 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com
Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form
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WATERVILLE -- A political newcomer seeking dramatic change is facing a veteran city council chairman in the June 14 mayor's race.
click image to enlarge
Dana Sennett
click image to enlarge
Andrew Roy
Select images available for purchase in the
Maine Today Photo Store
Andrew G. Roy, a Republican and self-employed disc jockey, is running against City Council Chairman Dana W. Sennett, D-Ward 1.
Roy and Sennett were the only candidates to file the 15 to 25 petition signatures from each ward by the April 15 deadline, according to City Clerk Arlene Strahan.
Andrew G. Roy
Roy, 36, said he had planned to run for mayor when he was a little older, but when he read in the newspaper that the Republican party caucus, held March 14, produced no candidate for the position, he decided to run.
"That's not a true democracy," Roy said. "We have to have two parties in order to have a fair choice. I felt called to go do it. I grew up United Pentecostal, so I have a pretty good connection with my higher power."
Roy is a 16-year member of Maine Vocals, a group seeking to legalize marijuana. He said he does security work for the organization.
"I'm pushing for people's freedoms," he said.
He is disabled and a medical marijuana patient. He became paralyzed from the neck down in 1992 from Guillain-Barre syndrome, he said. Guillain-Barre is an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system.
While he continues to be in a lot of pain, he is no longer paralyzed, he said.
"I chose medical marijuana over 'oxy' that they tried to prescribe," he said.
If elected mayor, Roy said he wants to talk to police Chief Joseph Massey about the Police Department.
"The whole gestapo thing's got to be cut down," he said.
"We need police reform; education reform is a big one. I'd also like to see the spending stop."
He said he opposes the city's proposal to spend $6.4 million on capital projects.
"It's excessive spending in a time when we don't know we'll have more (money) coming," he said. "We need business growth before we can spend a dime. We also need more Republicans on the council. I'd like to see more Republicans involved. They're (Democrats) going to spend, spend, spend, spend. The roads are falling apart."
Roy, whose ultimate goal is to become governor, said he is concerned about people taking illegal drugs and with people selling them on the streets.
"We have a big problem in this area," he said. "Doctors aren't being held accountable for any of it, and the taxpayers are paying for it all."
He cited the methadone clinic on Airport Road as a problem.
"I think it should be eliminated," he said. "I think it's just as much an expense as that thing (sculpture) in The Concourse. It (methadone clinic)'s the same kind of eyesore. People weren't asked for a vote on it. That's a big issue."
Roy said that between 2004 and 2008, he had a job working for an agency in South Paris and driving MaineCare patients to appointments in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook. Sixty percent of those people needed to go to methadone clinics, he said.
"I helped one person get off it (methadone). It took two years to do so."
When he moved back to Waterville in 2008, he registered as a Republican, according to Strahan, the city clerk.
Roy says that as far as he knows, he is no relation to Michael Roy, the city manager.
Dana W.Sennett
Sennett, 59, said he is running for mayor because he has enjoyed his work on the council and wants to continue serving the residents of the city in a more involved position.
"I'm very impressed with the current administration and department heads," Sennett said Monday. "We've been very fortunate to have a stable group of individuals that are currently serving in department head capacities, especially Mike Roy, city manager. Mike and I both grew up in the city and have been close friends for many years through athletics -- both playing on Waterville High School, state and New England hockey championships in the '70s, and remaining friends and now city business partners."
In his 15 years on the council, Sennett has been involved in a number of projects. The one he counts a "shining star" is the development in the late 1990s of the recreational area on North Street -- the municipal pool and athletic fields, he said.
"Everyone in the city can be proud of those facilities," he said. "Also, I think establishing TIF (tax increment financing) districts within the city that have attracted development -- namely, the Hathaway Creative Center and the Home Depot and Walmart developments -- have been a positive effect on the city."
Sennett said he recognizes there are roads in disrepair in the city, but some major ones have been improved.
"We have rebuilt Washington Street, Chase and College avenues and Kennedy Memorial Drive. They have all been rebuilt and improved in my time on the City Council. If I had to have a wish list, I would like to see more jobs created within the city because if we're going to attract a young population, then we're going to have to bring new job opportunities, and that might take some time."
Sennett said he recognizes that the communities bordering Waterville, including Winslow, Oakland and Fairfield, play an integral part in bringing people to the Waterville area, and the city must continue to work with those towns.
He said he enjoys his job on the council, as well as his involvement in the Alfond Youth Center, Waterville Development Corp. and other community activities.
"I love the complexity of the Waterville community," he said. "We have the old traditions that live on, that we are passing on to our youth, and I love the new people that are coming in, bringing their own traditions and introducing us to new technologies and cultures."
Sennett said he wants to ensure the city continues to provide the excellent quality education it does now.
"It always impresses me that graduating classes from Waterville have had individuals excel at the level that they're able to attract major universities throughout the world," he said. "Education is where it's at."
Strahan said Monday that whomever is elected will serve as mayor through December, filling the unexpired term of Paul LePage, who left the mayor's seat in January to become governor.
Another mayoral election will be held as part of the Nov. 8 election, and the candidate who wins that mayor race will take office Jan. 3, 2012 and serve a three-year term, Strahan said.
The mayoral election will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 14 at the American Legion hall on College Avenue.
Mayoral candidates who took out petition papers but did not submit them to the clerk's office were Whitney Blakeslee and Nathaniel White, Strahan said.
Amy Calder -- 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com
Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form
Send Question/Comment to the Publisher
