AUBURN — Candidates for the city’s two at-large seats have a wide range of opinions about what’s best for the city.

“If you like things the way they are, don’t bother voting for me,” candidate Robert Sevigny said. “If I get elected, everything is on the table. Everything: restructuring city departments, renegotiating all the city contracts, giving the city manager guidance. There’s a lot of room for savings.”

Opponent David Young said it’s not as much about having an agenda but about being a fair representative for the city.

“When you come right down to it, it’s a team effort,” Councilor David Young said. “It’s not so much about what one individual wants but what seven City Councilors and the mayor can agree upon to move the city in the right direction.”

Candidate Levi Gervais said he might not have all the answers, but he’s willing to listen.

“I’m happy to hear about problems, but I don’t just want to hear gripes,” Gervais said. “I want to hear (from people) how it effects them and what their ideas might be to fix them. That way, we can work together to make this an even better city to live in.”

Incumbent Belinda Gerry said she’s comfortable dissenting.

“You can’t go along with the others if you think it’s a bad idea,” Gerry said. “When you do that, you are not truly representing all the people or doing what you think is right. You can’t second-guess yourself. You have to stand up for what you believe is right.”

Five candidates are seeking Auburn’s two at-large City Council seats: Sevigny, Gerry, Young, Gervais and John T. Spruill.

At-large Councilor Joshua Shea is not seeking a second term, leaving Gerry as the sole incumbent among the at-large candidates. She has held the seat since 2010.

Gerry said she’s averse to making policy decisions without having all of the information in front of her. While most councilors approved building an ice rink on Turner Street this year, Gerry said she opposed it all along. It was a risk, despite a potential benefit, and she does not like risks.

“Given our financial conditions at the time, I didn’t think we could take on a project with unknown consequences,” Gerry said.

She also voted against the city budget, saying councilors needed more information.

Young favored the plan because it would increase the city’s tax base. “And that’s what we have to do, grow the tax base,” Young said.

He currently is the city’s Ward 4 representative. He was first elected to that seat in 2009 and had been unopposed in the previous two elections.

“It was just time to jump in the deep end of the pool,” Young said.

He prides himself on being a noncontroversial candidate who listens to all sides.

“I weigh things,” he said. “I listen and I don’t have a big ax to grind. My agenda is really to find consensus among things and look for things I can buy into. I’m here to represent the whole city, not to agree personally with everyone.”

Sevigny, an emergency-vehicle technician for South Portland, said he would stay open to new ideas as long as they are targeted to cutting city spending.

“We can’t just keep throwing money at problems,” he said. “Like the School Department keeps asking for money. We want good schools and better education to attract people, so we just throw money at it. But I don’t think we have any vision about what we expect to happen.”

Gervais said he’d consider corporate sponsorship for most city festivals and events.

“For example, I don’t see why we should not follow the lead of bigger cities and have businesses pay for them,” Gervais said. “It could be the ‘Lewiston-Auburn Fireworks Extravaganza,’ sponsored by Home Depot or Lowe’s or whoever you could get, rather than have it coming out of taxpayer money.”

Candidate John Spruill served as an at-large councilor in the 1990s. He could not be reached for an interview.

staylor@sunjournal.com

Election coverage

• Belinda A. Gerry
• Levi Gervais
• Robert Sevigny
• John T. Spruill Jr
• David Colby Young
• Auburn candidates

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