SABATTUS — Four people are running for two vacant seats on the Board of Selectmen in the Nov. 3 elections.

Balloting will be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Town Hall, 190 Middle Road.

Jean Paul Curran

Jean Paul “J.P.” Curran is a longtime resident of Sabattus and comes from a family of community leaders. His father, Leo, was instrumental in the town becoming its own entity. It was once known as the village of Sabattus within the town of Webster. He said his father’s legacy can be seen in some of the current town ordinances.

Curran said his brother, Ted, was a selectman in Sabattus for many years and was responsible for the creation of the recycling center/transfer station. While Curran serves on the Planning Board and the Ordinance Review Committee, he feels strongly about carrying on the tradition of being a member of the Board of Selectmen in honor of his brother.

A retired process engineer who worked for General Electric for 38 years and a disabled Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, Curran said Sabattus needs good representation at the state level and thinks it’s time for “new ideas.”

Some of Curran’s concerns center around substantiating the amount of town tax dollars that go to the school system. Curran wants solid data for what that money is being used for. Along with this, he believes in “pushing accountability” for major and unplanned expenses.

Curran can be reached at 212-8427 or by email at [email protected].

Guy Desjardins

Guy Desjardins has lived in Sabattus since 1973, previously served on the Board of Selectmen for nine years and was chief of police in Sabattus for 18 years. He was appointed chief deputy of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department for 11 years, before being elected Androscoggin County sheriff. He retired from that position in December.

Desjardins acts as a part-time deputy judicial marshal for Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin counties, and is a member of the Androscoggin County Budget Committee.

He is a strong supporter of funding capital equipment for the police and fire departments, and public works and the school department. He said he is pleased with the town escrow accounts that fund these items. It reduces the immediate burden on taxpayers because the costs are figured over time and not immediate, he said.

Desjardins also thinks “a stable mill rate and good financial planning” are essential for Sabattus to move forward and prosper.

Desjardins can be reached at [email protected].

Richard Lacombe

Richard Lacombe, a resident of Sabattus for 14 years, has been involved in municipal affairs for many years. While living in Lisbon years ago, he served that town as a firefighter for 12 years and served on the Ordinance Review Committee.

Currently Lacombe is chairman of the Sabattus Planning Board, a trustee of the Sabattus Sanitary and Water Department, and a member of the town’s Ordinance Review Committee.

Lacombe said he understands the value of hard work and diligence as the owner/operator of RDL Mechanical Contractors & Gas of New England in Sabattus, which has been in business for 23 years.

He said he is an advocate for the people and “wants to put things in perspective” for taxpayers by working closely with the Regional School Unit 4 board to help promote an affordable budget. Lacombe also supports bringing new business ventures to Sabattus, which he feels will broaden services for residents while helping to regulate the tax rate.

Lacombe can be reached by email at [email protected].

David Marsters Sr.

David Marsters Sr. is a Navy veteran, served as a patrolman on the Malden Police Department in Massachusetts for 24 years and is retired from the National Guard after 24 years of service. Originally from Massachusetts, he has called Sabattus his home for five-and-a-half years. 

Marsters is a member of the Sabattus Budget Committee, the Ordinance Review Committee and sits on the Planning Board. One subject that concerns him is the constant increase in the school budget. While he said he believes students deserve the best, his thinks too much money is spent staffing administrative positions at RSU 4.

Marsters said he wonders about the possibility of getting schools back into the community and away from the school district because the town would have more control of where tax dollars are spent.

Another of his concerns is road conditions, especially the Williams Road, which he calls “atrocious.” Marsters said many townspeople shared the same concern with him while he was petitioning to run for the board.

Marsters can be reached by email at [email protected].