Three candidates are on the local Buxton ballot for two available Planning Board seats on the seven-member board.
Incumbent Christopher Baldinelli is facing former board member Scott Warchol and political newcomer Heath Knight in the race for a pair of three-year terms.
The election is June 11 and polls open at 6 a.m., remaining open until 8 p.m. at Town Hall.
Baldinelli
Baldinelli, 54, has served the past nine consecutive years on the board and had a handful of years earlier than that. He has lived in Buxton 34 years and been an assistant 4-H leader and president of Cumberland County Bee Association.
He wants to continue helping the town in addition to assisting applicants get to where they need to be.
A delivery driver combined with farming and landscaping, he wants to help the town grow at a reasonable rate and keep its rural character. “We’re short on housing,” Baldinelli said.
Knight
Knight, 50, is encouraging residents to attend meetings and campaigning to get people more involved in local governance. “You have to be out in public to understand what’s going on,” Knight said.
While making his first bid for elected office, Knight has volunteered as a youth soccer coach and a road race volunteer. He has been a Buxton resident 21 years.
Employed as a shop foreman for a firm that fabricates building fronts for businesses and schools, Knight is also a realtor.
He advocates that the town grows in a timely manner without overburdening the schools. “I want to make Buxton the best it can be,” Knight said.
Warchol
Warchol, 62, currently serves on the Buxton Keep the Heat On program that assists seniors with home fuel bills. He has previously served a term on the Planning Board, two terms on the Budget Committee, two terms on the Board of Appeals and three years on the Maine School Administrative District 6 Budget Advisory Committee.
Retired, Warchol has lived 20 years in Buxton. He said the Planning Board work is similar to what he did in a career reviewing plans and specifications to ensure applications conform to town ordinances. “Our town ordinances need to be updated,” Warchol said. “I wrote the current town solar farm ordinance and thus look forward to working on updating them.”
Warchol did not say whether he belongs to a political party; Knight is a Republican and Baldinelli is unenrolled.
Each of the three candidates is married. Baldinelli has a daughter and Knight has two children.
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