RUMFORD – James Doar is excited to be back in Maine.

For the past 10 years he has lived in several states, with his most recent job as a budget analyst for the state of New York.

At 8 Thursday morning, he began his first day on the job as Rumford’s town manager.

“Rumford is a really beautiful place with lots of potential,” he said Thursday afternoon.

This is Doar’s first job as a town manager. “I’ve always worked with local government issues. In local government, you get to see the fruits of labor firsthand,” he said.

Interim Town Manager Stacy Carter devoted the morning to introducing Doar to municipal employees, then took him on a tour of neighborhoods and villages, something he said that gave him a good perspective on the size of services the town should provide.

Doar, 29, presided over his first selectmen’s meeting Thursday night. He soon will discuss with selectmen what his first project should be.

Although Doar said he has returned to Maine many times over the years, he said he forgot just how beautiful Maine is.

“I wonder why I ever left,” he said.

He was particularly impressed with the friendliness of people he met Thursday.

“When you are growing up, you take that for granted,” said the New Sweden native and graduate of Caribou High School.

Besides starting a new job, he is a new father as well. His wife Melissa, also a Maine native, gave birth to their first child, Jackson, on June 4, and will join Doar in a few days.