Ward 2, Taylor Pond area

Address: 172 Allen Ave.

Personal: Married, two children

Occupation: Owner, J.L. Hayes and Co.

Education: Edward Little High School; B.S., Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.; B.S., University of Southern Maine; Navy Officer Candidate School; Navy Supply School

Political experience: None

Community groups: Auburn Planning Board, Lewiston Downtown Development and Management Corp., Chamber of Commerce, Lost Valley Ski School

Hayes says he will listen to everyone

AUBURN – Bob Hayes said he’s more of a listener than a talker, and that may be just what the City Council needs.

“It’s hard to be critical, because I have not been directly involved in everything the council has done, but I’ve heard the criticisms,” Hayes said. “I’ve talked to people about it, and it all seems to come down to communication. That’s what I hope to bring, an ability to listen to all the sides, review the issues and contemplate before making a decision.”

His goal, if elected, is to make the City Council more accessible.

“Getting the meetings on TV should help,” he said. Great Falls TV is set to begin live coverage of the meetings in November.

“Part of that will be letting the citizens see what’s going on at their leisure,” he said. “Along with that, I would hope to see the council take a little more time and give the citizens a chance to respond. I really think they need to get feedback.”

His tenure on the Planning Board should help his decisions, he said.

“Part of my background is community planning – especially regional planning,” Hayes said. “I think that gives me a perspective as to what happens in Auburn.”

The Twin Cities are positioned well, close enough to Portland to get some of the economic spin from the larger city but remote enough to have a distinct character.

The city has tried to capitalize on that, but Hayes thinks it can do better.

“We’ve put a lot of investment into the downtown, as far as new city offices and so forth,” Hayes said. “Now is the time to begin looking outside of the downtown, to industrial development for the city. That kind of true economic development is really necessary.”

A proposed property tax cap would make that difficult, although Hayes declined to be specific about what he would do if it passed.

“You have to recognize that if it does, there is going to be a very difficult period of time,” he said. “There would be real cuts made and we’d have to go back, as a community, and reassess our services.”

By the same token, Hayes said he didn’t have changes he’d ask the city’s new Charter Commission to consider.

“I’m not familiar enough with any problems the city has had under the existing charter,” he said. One idea, term limits for city councilors and the mayor, could have merits, though.

“I think it’s good for the citizenry to have different people coming through,” he said. “You do reach a point when people need to be refreshed and it may make people more interested in the race if they don’t have an incumbent to fall back on.”

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