PARIS – Four candidates are vying for two selectman’s slots here on Tuesday.

Incumbent William L. Merrill will be defending his post against Barbara N. Payne, Amanda J. Young and Glen W. Young, who hope to replace him and Nancy Record, who is retiring after nine years of service.

Merrill, a Lewiston native, went to high school in Michigan and moved back to Maine in 1981. He has served as a selectman for six years. A truck driver for 30 years, he works for Poland Spring where he has been for the past 11.

He lists the new fire station and the completion of the town’s property revaluation among his accomplishments, quickly pointing out, though, that he was one of a team of people involved.

He seeks to bring more jobs to the town, continue to support road maintenance and upgrade programs, keep taxes down and maintain services.

“I listen to the people and try to base my decisions on what I hear out there,” he said in an interview Thursday.

“Sometimes I make a decision in my head and listening to the people I change my mind. I’m not always right.”

A lifelong resident of Paris and graduate of Oxford Hills High School, Payne, is the mother of three grown children. She has been actively involved in town government. She’s serving on the town budget committee now and is a past member of the SAD 17 board and the vocational Region 11 board.

She says she has no particular agenda and hopes to serve the people of Paris to the best of her ability. She likes small town politics that give people an opportunity to have their voices heard.

“The more people that can be involved in democracy, the better off the town will be,” she said in a telephone interview Thursday.

In a most unusual race, two members of the Young family are running against each other for a selectman’s post.

Glen W. Young, 45, runs the family business, Young’s Greenhouse on High Street. The farm has been owned and operated by his family since his great-grandfather bought the property. He is a lifelong resident of Paris, a graduate of Oxford Hills High School and the father of three including one of his opponents, Amanda Young.

Amanda J. Young, 25, is among the fourth generation of Youngs to run the family business. A graduate of Oxford Hills Christian Academy, the younger of the Young candidates says she loves working at the farm.

Both Youngs seem to be of the same mind. They are vehement in their desire to keep taxes down so that people can continue to afford to live here. Amanda Young says she would like to know more about how tax money is spent and would like to hold the town accountable for its spending. They both feel that taxes are going “up and up” and would like to harness future building plans to keep taxes in a reasonable range.

They offer the voters of Paris their reputation for hard work and honesty.

When asked if there would be issues working with her father as a town selectman, Young said that because they are basically “on the same page” there should not be any conflicts.

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