Dear Editor:

I am running for another opportunity to serve as your selectman and I am writing to ask for your vote. Boothbay is my lifelong home. I have experienced our great school system. I spent countless hours at the Y as a kid. I have worked/volunteered for my community for almost 30 years, meeting many wonderful people along the way. I am deeply involved with this caring community. I manage the Transfer/Recycling Center and work as a local paramedic. I have lived all that this beloved community has to offer.

Why run again? The answer is simple: I love our town. The location, the people, the 60-minute trips to the store for one item and an opportunity to see neighbors in the middle of winter. Change is inevitable and critical to moving forward but it is also important to retain what makes Boothbay our home, our community. I want my kids to have the same opportunities I have been lucky enough to experience — the chance to work and live in the community that they grew up in.

Economic development is a simple phrase I deeply believe in. We need year-round employment and year-round affordable housing. People live where they work. Without both, our children will be forced to leave the place where they grew up. Our elderly deserve stability and expanding our tax base through economic growth keeps tax rates low.

This is an important time. Please go to the polls on May 7th and vote for two candidates. I would sincerely appreciate if one of your votes was for me.

Thank you.

Steve Lewis

Boothbay