RUMFORD — Of four candidates vying for two three-year terms on the Board of Selectmen, Jeff Sterling, Frank DiConzo and Jolene Lovejoy have extensive municipal experience.

Sterling is a current selectman seeking re-election, while DiConzo and Lovejoy are former selectmen. All three have served on the SAD 43 School Board, and Sterling has also served on the Region 9 School of Applied Technology board.

Candidate Eric Giroux served a year for Rumford on the Med-Care Ambulance Board of Directors and a year on the Board of Appeals. He is also a volunteer Roxbury firefighter who owns a chimney-cleaning business.

Giroux and Sterling are also employed by Sunday River Ski Resort.

All four were asked to name the three biggest issues facing Rumford and their resolve to address such if elected.

Sterling and Giroux identified wind, economic development and the town budget.

“Wind will continue to be an issue whether the ordinance passes or not,” Sterling said Wednesday of the proposed wind ordinance he rewrote.

“I have always believed that every issue has a middle ground, and although my belief has been shaken on this issue, I would continue to work to try to find any compromises that may be possible.”

He said town officials have made “tremendous progress” in attracting businesses to town, largely crediting Town Manager Carlo Puiia, Jim Rinaldo and Phil Blampied.

Sterling said he would favor and endorse the current effort to name the Route 2 corridor near McDonald’s, the Gateway Entrance by the ball fields and Hannaford, and the Puiia Business Park as tax-increment financing districts.

He said he also favors further investment in the business park to get the lots business ready.

As for budgets, he said he agreed with Selectman Mark Belanger’s assessment that with a decreasing population, Rumford’s budgets, as they are, are unsustainable. That’s why he said he favored a flat-lined budget this year.

“I think if we are successful with attracting more businesses to town, with the business taxes they generate and the people they may bring in to call Rumford home, we can stabilize the budget and make needed investments in our town,” Sterling said.

“I think that we need to go with the majority of what the voter’s want and support their decisions,” Giroux said by email on Saturday of the wind issue.

“I believe taxes are too high, but without cutting services, I believe we need to start thinking about putting services together to save on the top dollar.”

Giroux also said he thinks “we need to get some bigger business in the town and also need to help the small businesses that feed our town for you.”

DiConzo and Lovejoy listed several issues on Thursday instead of the top three.

DiConzo said town departments need work-efficiency reviews “to get taxpayers the biggest bang for the buck.”

To reduce taxes, he still champions consolidation or town mergers, wants more communications with elected and appointed officials regularly, and sees a continued need to revise the town charter and ordinances “to eliminate the trumping of one another.”

Additionally, he said attitudes must change on the Board of Selectmen.

“Issues should not be destroying cohesiveness,” he said. “One thing that I will work for is cohesiveness, so we can work on the issues I have mentioned.”

Issues Lovejoy sees as important are bringing people together to understand what they want; reaching out to young businesspeople, seniors and the business community to learn how to help them; and finding better efficiencies in day-to-day town operations.

Selectmen, she said, need to work collaboratively to foster economic development and support daily activities run by the town manager.

She said she believes that town officials must establish and maintain trusting, respectful and ongoing relationships with townspeople and businesspeople.

Lovejoy said she would encourage more participation from young and old alike on town committees and at selectmen meetings to promote better collaboration and understanding for all Rumford residents.

She said she offers residents “a positive attitude, no personal agenda and willingness to work” for their benefit.

The annual town meeting elections will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, at the American Legion on upper Congress Street.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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