AUBURN — Less than a week after taking out nomination papers, Adam Lee of Auburn is officially a candidate for mayor.
Lee, the Ward 4 city councilor, said the required voter signatures were verified Monday. He took out papers a week ago on the first day they were available.
In a news release Monday, he said he’s running for mayor to “restore trust and transparency to Auburn Hall.”
“When I was collecting my signatures, and when I was out knocking on doors, I didn’t hear residents saying ‘I want this’ or ‘I want that.’ Almost every single person said to me, ‘I don’t understand why our government representatives can’t work together,'” Lee said. “People are tired of division. They see it at the federal and state level, and unfortunately now increasingly see it here at the local level. Politicians earn points by attacking each other and by attacking city staff. Auburn’s residents are sick of it. I am too.”
Lee, 37, is an attorney at Trafton, Matzen, Belleau & Frenette. He served as Ward 4 councilor from 2013-15 and was elected to the seat again in June during a special election.
In a Facebook post Monday, Lee said he met with former Mayor Lee Young, calling her a role model.
He said, “The progress that occurred in the city during her tenure is something to which I aspire. The council over which she presided was collegial, civil, open to the public, and productive.”
In the news release, Lee said the City Charter is clear when it comes to the role of the mayor.
“The charter sees the mayor as the liaison between the residents and the council. This will be my primary responsibility,” he said. “That means that the conduct of meetings and my work as mayor will be focused on ensuring that the residents have a voice to communicate their desires to the council and to staff.”
So far, Auburn businessman Jason Levesque has also taken out nomination papers and announced intentions to run. Three-term Mayor Jonathan LaBonte told the Sun Journal last week that he will not seek re-election.
Lee has served on the L/A Triple Crown 5K Committee, the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, volunteered at the YMCA and for Auburn Suburban Little League, helped coach the Edward Little Speech & Debate team, and has served as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine in Androscoggin County.
arice@sunjournal.com
Adam Lee is officially a candidate for Auburn mayor after his required voter signatures were approved this week.
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