LIVERMORE FALLS — Three residents are seeking election to a three-year term on the Select Board on June 8. The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fire Station.
William Kenniston, 37, of Sandy Lane is a mill operator at Hillandale Farms in Leeds. Submitted photo
William Kenniston, incumbent Nixon Ortiz and Josh Tainter answered questions from the Sun Journal on why they are running, how to attract businesses and the skills they have to benefit the town.
“Over the years I have become more aware of how our everyday lives are impacted by local government, Kenniston said. “It is hard to count the number of times that I have been talking with friends and co-workers about some seemingly nonsensical town ordinance or mismanagement by local officials that could either be done away with or handled better.”
It is his belief, he said, that “you can have the greatest impact on your friends and family when your hyperfocused close to home, and that is why I am running for selectman.”
Ortiz said he is “rerunning for selectman because after serving my town of Livermore Falls for four years, I still believe there is lot more that needs to be accomplished to breathe more life into our community.”
Tainter said, “From a professional standpoint, I have a passion for small business. They are the lifeblood of not only our town but the entire state of Maine. Putting my knowledge of corporate and municipal finance to work for the residents and small businesses owners in our town is something I am looking forward to.”
His parents, grandparents and his wife’s parents were all raised in the town, Tainter said.
“My wife and I both were raised in this town and we plan on raising our children in this town,” he said. “I want my children to enjoy this area like the generations before them were able to.”
Nixon Ortiz, 51, of Cargill Street is a maintenance specialist for Volunteers of America Submitted photo
In regards to attracting more businesses, Ortiz said, “I would like to see if we could offer tax breaks to new businesses for a short while until they can get well-established and offer more support to our already established businesses via finding property improvement grants or the like.”
The town could be more accommodating for the businesses that call “our town home,” Tainter said.
“Simple accommodations such as Transfer Station flexibility, neighboring cleanliness and respect for business and personal property are all things that have been conveyed to me during discussion with business owners,” he said.
“The business community is small and in order to attract and retain new businesses we need to start by taking care of the ones that we already have, most of which have been staples in the communities for decades, and incentivize new business and property owners for occupying historically vacant spaces,” he said.
Kenniston said like many others, he would like to see Maine as a whole return to its industrial roots while maintaining its rural characteristics.
“We all would like to see Livermore Falls become what it once was,” Kenniston said. “In order to do that and draw in new business I feel we need to find ways to build a livelier community. One that will help retain and build a young desirable workforce that will help old business thrive and draw new businesses in.”
Josh Tainter, 29, of Park Street is a vice president in commercial banking. Submitted photo
The three candidates listed a variety to skills to help the town.
“I graduated from Thomas College with a (Bachelor of Science degree) in Finance and have been in commercial banking for nearly 10 years managing corporate and municipal relationships from as small as $300,000 in revenue to as large as $50 million in revenue,” Tainter said. “In addition, I have served on the board of directors for several local nonprofits and chaired numerous committees where I have learned that a sense of reasonableness and compromise is paramount for the future success of any organization.”
Kenniston said he has “an extraordinarily strong desire to see our town thrive, rebuild our community and to get everyone involved.”
He enjoys talking with people from all walks of life and said he’s very personable with a laid-back attitude.
“I am a huge believer in personal choice, the Constitution and that government is meant to serve the people,” Kenniston said. “Though I cannot speak for our current selectman as to their motives, I know that I want to help our town prosper and not just get by. I can keep an open mind, willing to think outside of the box and not afraid to seek help or study other towns that have had success in growing their economy’s. Finally I am not afraid of change and will never settle for the line, ‘It has always been that way so why change it?'”
Ortiz said he believes his four years as a selectman, experience as a fire service officer and involvement in the community will be a benefit to the town.
“I’ve got some ideas on how to revive our town by creating incentives for more businesses to want come here,” he said. ” I also am looking into making our community more family friendly such as when I was able to replace the play structure at the Livermore Falls Rec Field.”
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