LOVELL – Price Hutchins believes his management and organization skills will make him effective in the position of Oxford County Register of Probate.

Hutchins, 51, is the Maine salesperson for Spectrowax, which sells chemicals and supplies to the building industry. This is his first try at public office.

He was approached to run for the position after attending the Democratic presidential caucus in his hometown of Lovell earlier this year.

“There’s been a lot of discussion that the job takes more time than has been allotted to it,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s the case.”

He said if elected he would look for ways to improve efficiency in the office, especially in upgrading from a manual to an electronic filing system.

“It has been my experience that the probate office is about planning. Planning for the end, or planning for the future. These can be difficult issues to wrestle with and the probate office should be a asset and a resource,” Hutchins said.

Being a register of probate, he said, “requires a good manager, and ability to multi-task. If you’re organized, you can do it in the time given to it,” he said.

He believes it’s important for a register to be accessible to the public and not to give advice.

“The best advice you can get is from someone who is experienced in estate planning,” he said. “You should be accessible – you need to have the person come away feeling like they understand the process, and that it’s a safe process.”

Hutchins and his wife, Ann, have three children, and moved to Maine 13 years ago from Massachusetts. Two years ago they moved from Bridgton to Lovell, where they are renovating an 1813 farmhouse in Lovell Village.

“We’ve raised three children and are now starting the grandchild part of our family life,” he said.

When he first came to Maine Hutchins worked as the food and beverage director at Shawnee Peak in Bridgton. He later worked for Perkins Papers, selling chemicals and paper supplies.

He has a bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Vermont, and attended Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.

He is an active member of the First Congregational Church of Bridgton, and the Knights Hill Association on Moose Pond, where he and his wife own a home.

He has been active in the local cable television public access station and for two years produced a live call-in show.