Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE MAYORAL CONTEST Debate hits contrasts
BY JOEL ELLIOTT
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 10/21/2008

WATERVILLE -- Mayoral candidate Rosemary J. Winslow and incumbent Paul R. LePage described strikingly different leadership styles in Monday evening's debate.

The event, held at Waterville Opera House, was sponsored by the Morning Sentinel. About 200 people attended, writing questions on slips of paper and passing them in to the candidates before and during the debate.

Winslow, a Democrat and a Ward 3 city councilor of nine years, stressed her consensus-building abilities, while LePage, a Republican who served two terms on the City Council representing Ward 1 before winning the mayor's seat in 2003, cast himself as a bold decision-maker.

"I believe I definitely have the business and financial skills to benefit this city," LePage said. "I do listen to different sides, but at some point, I will make a decision."

LePage, who works as general manager for Marden's Surplus & Salvage stores statewide, said this approach is necessary in many cases to avoid bogging the city down in bureaucratic quagmire.

Winslow serves as the intergovernmental liaison for Rep. Michael Michaud, D-2nd District. She formerly volunteered for the Peace Corps, worked for Senior Spectrum's Muskie Center and taught at Waterville Senior High School. She pointed to different programs and projects that have shown a degree of success, such as Waterville Main Street and the Hathaway Project, as evidence that the city has a bright future.

"I am prepared to bring leadership and an open mind," Winslow said. "I want to lead people into making decisions -- into making good decisions."

Both candidates emphasized the roles they each played in reducing the mill rate (from $27.40 per $1,000 in property value in the 2003-04 fiscal year, to $24.40 in the current fiscal year).

"Over the last three years, we are one of the few communities in the state that have utilized LD-1 (a state law that attempts to limit how much municipalities spend) to reduce the mill rate," Winslow said.

For his part, LePage pointed to several occasions when he has kept the city budget down by vetoing city council decisions. In his three years as mayor, the city's fund balances have increased from $1.5 million to $8.5 million, he said.

Both candidates went further, however, saying they would work to try to continue curb spending if elected.

The two disagreed on what to do with Head of Falls Park near the spot on the Kennebec River where the Two Cent Bridge links Waterville and Winslow.

Winslow said she wants to improve the entrance to the bridge to make it safer, and find a way to develop the park into a more creative use of green space.

LePage agreed about improving the bridge's safety, but said he is "concerned that we're going to put a nice park in there by the bridge and have a developer come and say, 'That's the piece of property that I want.'"

Both candidates said MaineGeneral's decision to move many of its operations to Augusta was not good news for Waterville.

"Obviously, it's a big loss to the city of Waterville," LePage said. "However, I do understand the economics" of the decision.

Winslow said the move is step toward regionalization for which many have been pushing.

"It's not the worst of the worst," she said.

David Offer, former executive editor of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, moderated the debate, which lasted about an hour. In closing remarks, Offer told members of the audience they were privileged to have two good choices for mayoral candidates.

The city of Waterville, in Kennebec County, has about 15,600 residents within its roughly 14 square miles, according to census data.

Joel Elliott -- 861-9252

jelliott@centralmaine.com

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