PARIS — Health-care advocate and small business owner Roy Gedat wants to be elected to his first full, four-year term as Oxford County treasurer.

Gedat, 57, of Norway was appointed to the position in March after the retirement of longtime Treasurer Mary Anne Prue.

“I enjoy being treasurer and working with the county employees. There is no politics in terms of doing the job,” he said. Gedat is running as a Democrat.

The part-time county treasurer position is the finance director of the county and reports to the three-person Oxford County Commission.

Gedat is running for the position because he wants to be in public service, which he said is a natural extension of his vocation.

Gedat, originally from Long Island, N.Y., who has lived in Maine for 30 years, is the former director of the Child Health Center in Norway, and currently operates a home-care business. He also is director for the Direct Care Alliance, which is a national advocacy organization for certified nursing assistants, home health aides and others who care for people. He occasionally provides part-time direct care for developmentally disabled adults.

When he first came to Maine in 1980, he worked for Catholic Charities in Portland.

He has served on the Norway Budget Committee, the Downtown Norway Revitalization Committee, and used his financial skills as treasurer of the Norway Historical Society, Oxford County Democrats and Maine Personal Assistance Service Association. He also was a member of the state’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

He also ran twice, unsuccessfully, for a house seat in District 95.

If elected, Gedat hopes to continue modernizing and computerizing the treasurer’s office and other county offices. He said he has worked with the commissioners and the county administrator to reorganize some tasks. And he is concerned that all employees, full and part time, are receiving full health benefits.

“I’m concerned that this is not sustainable and is not the same as in the private sector,” he said.

He said he has the skills and experience for the job and has a good track record.

“We had good results. We’ve reorganized the office and made the treasurer’s department much more relevant and provided information the commissioners need to do their jobs,” he said.

He believes the position of part-time treasurer should be elected.

“It’s absurd not to have it elected. It provides another individual set of eyes on the money that is spent, a higher level of accountability,” he said.

He said he averages 10 to 15 hours a week, and sometimes longer during specific times such as during budget development season.

Gedat graduated from Hofstra and Boston universities.

He and his partner, Julie Peterson, are the parents of five adult children.

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