Meet the candidates running for Hermon Town Council

Dec 24, 2023

Hermon voters will go to the polls Tuesday to elect two town councilors and one member of the school committee to three-year terms during a time of deep division in the growing community.

Three residents, including an incumbent, are on the ballot for two slots on the council. A fourth is running as a write-in candidate.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the gymnasium at the Patricia A. Duran Elementary Gym, 235 Billings Road.

Two recent controversies — students’ access to books with mature themes and sexual content in school libraries, and the town's decision to end its contract with Hermon Volunteer Rescue and First Aid Squad after a decades-long agreement — have divided the community.

Town Councilor G. Stephen Watson, 72, head of the rescue squad's board of directors, is not seeking reelection after council members in March voted unanimously to end its contract with Hermon Volunteer Rescue & First Aid Squad Inc. effective June 30. That decision was made after a wrongful death claim was filed against the ambulance service.

Instead, the town will contract with Northern Light Medical Transport for ambulance service. Hermon ambulance will continue to operate without funding from the town, Watson has said. Watson recused himself from voting and discussions in executive session on the matter.

Candidates cited the need to keep property taxes low by balancing spending with attracting new businesses. Hermon's property tax rate has been $11.99 per $1,000 assessed valuation for the past two years but that is expected to rise this year if voters approve increases in the municipal and school budgets.

Two of the candidates, Christopher Gray and incumbent Ronald Murphy, are running as a block along with school board candidate Brian Veneziano. They have posted videos outlining their positions on the Hermon Republicans’ website even though it is a non-partisan election.

Council candidate Kimberly Stewart is running in tandem with incumbent school committee member Kristen Shorey, who is seeking a second term. They have not made their party affiliations public.

The candidates are listed as they appear on the ballot with write-in candidate Everett Buzzell last.

Gray, 39, is a Veazie police officer who has lived in Hermon for 17 years. He is running for council "to establish unity among residents of Hermon by promoting trust, integrity and transparency in all areas, coupled with fiscal responsibility in Hermon's continued growth."

He supports age-appropriate content standards for school library books. In his campaign video, Gray also said that in his job as a law enforcement officer, he has worked with Northern Light Medical Transport and has seen the high quality of service it provides.

Gray stressed fiscal responsibility and low taxes while promoting community growth. He also said he wants to meet with residents individually and in groups "to hear concerns regarding what matters most to their families, then find problem-solving solutions to those concerns with truth and transparency."

Murphy, 69, is running for his second three-year term on the council. He's lived in town for 43 years. He was a Hermon firefighter for 15 years, worked at a local auto parts store for 30 years, then founded a lawn care landscaping business bearing the family name, now run by his son.

In his campaign video, Murphy said that the experience of running his own business is one of the most valuable things he brings to the council.

"Running your own business, you definitely know how budgets work and know how to work with people and I love working with people," he said. "Everybody's got their own concerns and I try to listen to those to make an informed decision."

He said that the most pressing issue facing the community is the growing school and municipal budgets and the shrinking economy.

"We used to be able to rely on new businesses coming to town to help with the town's valuation [paying for] the increased school budget," Murphy said. "We don't have that luxury any more. So we have to learn how to stretch the tax dollars. How to do that is to challenge the municipal and school budgets."

Murphy also said the council needs a new program to market economic development in town to help keep property taxes low.

Stewart, 36, has lived in town since 2016. She owns a commercial cleaning business that employs 70 people. The business has received the Best Places to Work in Maine award the past two years.

Stewart said that she believes the divisions in the community can be healed with a little bit of "elbow grease and some open and honest conversations."

"What Hermon needs most right now is someone who is truly a team player and already has established rapport and relationships throughout the community, but more specifically with our leaders on the school committee," Stewart said. "The turbulent relationship between the town and school has caused communication barriers, conflict, misunderstandings and distrust."

She supports the opt-in procedure Walsh is putting in place at the high school library.

"Removing books completely off the shelves never felt right to me," she said. "Hermon serves students of varying abilities, interests, backgrounds, aspirations and maturity levels."

Stewart's priorities include communication, unification and building relationships, maintaining and sustaining the rural character of Hermon, and smart growth that includes dealing with overcrowding the schools.

Buzzell, 62, has accused councilors of not being transparent and ducking residents’ concerns about the resignation of former town manager, Howard Kroll, following last year's annual town meeting.

Buzzell, who has been escorted from council meetings by Penobscot County Sheriff's deputies, has accused the council of "firing" Kroll without explanation. The town's legal counsel has said that the town's confidentiality agreement with Kroll over his departure prevents officials from speaking publicly about the matter.

He was one of four candidates who ran last November in a special election to fill the unexpired term of Phillip Richardson, who moved to Carmel and resigned from the council. Buzzell came in third with 338 votes. Danielle Haggerty was elected with 1,219 votes. Her term expires next year.

This year, Buzzell has placed yard signs around town and he has a campaign Facebook page but it does not include a phone number, email address or the ability to instant message him as other candidates do.

Buzzell claims that he is running for the "working class" in a palm card listing his priorities posted on Facebook. His priorities and concerns include property taxes, help for the elderly, help for low-income residents, better internet services, safety for schools and improving business.

A recording of a candidates forum held May 9 may be viewed on the town's website here.