Dear Editor:

We write to support the nomination of Stuart Smith for Edgecomb Selectman. A life-long resident of Edgecomb, graduate of Edgecomb schools, an active pillar of the Edgecomb community, and a successful, self-made Edgecomb entrepreneur, Mr. Smith will bring a deep appreciation of Edgecomb’s history, a steadfast commitment to Edgecomb’s future, and proven dedication, transparency, and expertise to the position of selectman. 

With a background in computer science, Mr. Smith has worked both in industry and in his own highly successful small business, Seguin Software, providing computer-based solutions to meet the critical needs of a wide range of customers, both locally and nationally.  Some of the best known national corporations depend on Seguin products in their daily operations. 

Mr. Smith, a former Edgecomb Selectman, has already demonstrated the knowledge, temperament, and foresight to manage the town’s resources efficiently in meeting competing resource demands, making hard decisions on critical needs, while respecting the Edgecomb taxpayers’ ability to sustain limited growth. He understands the insatiable thirst for expanded budgets by Edgecomb’s major public consumers, and has transparently supported past core mission requests while moderating the more zealous ones.  

As a past example of Mr. Smith’s concerns for the long term welfare of Edgecomb, he created the large Edgecomb Highway Project back in 2013 that restored the majority of Edgecomb’s roads, using a minimal loan rate, and created the baseline for a 10-year town plan of annual rotating road maintenance designed to keep Edgecomb’s roads in good condition while reducing projected future Edgecomb highway costs significantly. We drive on the results every day. 

Mr.Smith’ssteady hands are what we need at the helm during this time of large funding undertows from the tidal wave of federal and state funding that washed over local governments during the COVID years, drowning local taxpayers in unsustainable tax increases. We urge you to vote for Stuart Smith on May 17 as the candidate best qualifiedto guide Edgecomb into the future. 

Nort and Carole Fowler 

Edgecomb