SEBAGO — There are two three-year positions open on the Sebago Board of Selectmen and three candidates have taken out papers and will be voted on at the May 28, 2019 town elections. 

Two, Phil Lowe and Chris Parker, are currently selectmen and are running for reelection. Scott Douglas is running for the Board of Selectmen for the first time.

A “Meet the Candidates” night was held at the Sebago Elementary School last Thursday, April 25, to allow Sebago voters a chance to meet the candidates running for the Sebago Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and other positions that will appear on the town ballot. 

The Town Hall will be open for voting on May 28, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. that day.

Meet the Candidates

Scott Douglas is running for the first time for the Sebago Board of Selectman. He has lived in Sebago all of his life and has grown up involved with town politics. He notes that his mother served as a Sebago selectman for over 20 years. 

“I have always been involved with the town,” Douglas said. 

He has worked for the Public Works Department and has been an active member of the Sebago Fire Department. Douglas plays an active role in maple sugaring at Sebago’s Greene Maple Farm and operations at Sebago’s Philip View Farm. He is an avid outdoorsman and hunter and owns and operates Ridge Runner Deer Processing in Sebago.

He would like to focus on creating more recreational programs for children, in addition to ensuring that “the town is a better place and more people-friendly.” 

Douglas said: “I just want to go in and learn and listen and help, and give my best judgment on stuff that goes on.”  He added, “I believe that I know where Sebago people want Sebago to be,” and as a selectman will work to make that happen.

Phil Lowe is running for his second term as a selectman. He is a member of the Road Committee and has been a member of the Sebago Planning Board, Budget and CIP Committees. Knowing how they all fit together has been beneficial, Lowe said.

As a selectman, Lowe has been part of successful efforts to install 180 solar panels on the salt shed to save electrical costs for the town, having one major road rebuilt each year by our town crew, encouraging the televising of the selectmen’s and planning board meetings, securing a new fire engine and EMS vehicle, and being a proponent of a new public safety building.

As treasurer for the Withdrawal Committee, he played a key role in Sebago’s recent withdrawal from SAD 61 and creation of our own community Sebago Elementary School. Lowe believes that Sebago’s future depends heavily on retaining our own quality school.

“It really is the heart of our community,” he said.

Lowe continues to be involved with the Operations Committee for Sebago Elementary School plan for future improvements at the school and how to plan the financing of those needs.

“Sebago is growing, and we need to plan for that growth, because it is coming,” he said. 

Lowe feels it is time to look at Sebago’s Comprehensive Plan to see if any revisions are needed or land codes need to be improved. He feels Sebago should be attracting more young couples and can better provide elder care. Improved broadband and Internet options would help attract and support small businesses as well as those who work from home. More energy projects would help us financially as well as environmentally. A food sovereignty question on the next ballot can help lead to a weekly community market. And he would really like to see our government take a more proactive approach to including citizens in those planning decisions, whether that be through increased communications methods or input from committees that seek opinions and suggestions from citizens. 

“I think that feeling of us all working together goes all the way back to watching my mother,” he said. 

She helped instill in him a strong belief that we all need to do what we can to help and that everyone should be heard.

“I don’t think that government should do everything for people. But it should help citizens help themselves,” he added.

Lowe has extensive experience in construction, management and has owned his own businesses. He is now a Senior Project Inspector for Sebago Technics.

Chris Parker has been a Sebago selectman since 2012 and currently serves as the vice chairman of the board.  He is running to be reelected to another three-year term.

He is a longtime resident of Sebago and is the owner of Chris’ Services, a landscaping and arborist firm in town. His father, Abe Parker, also served as a selectman several years ago. Chris Parker is well-known around town.