BELFAST, Maine — The stakes are high. The acrimony about past political decisions is bitter. And the choice offered by the two candidates running for the contested seat is stark.
The long-fought battle for the American presidency? Nope. The fight for a soon-to-be-vacated position on Belfast City Council.
Local real estate agent Mary Mortier is vying against Bath Iron Works employee Chris Knight for the Ward 1 seat that current Councilor Marina Delune is vacating after serving two terms. All Belfast residents can vote for every ward.
Knight said that he is a fourth-generation resident of Belfast who moved home after spending some time away so he can raise his family here. In a recent candidate’s forum hosted by the Bangor Daily News and broadcast on Belfast Community Television, Knight said that he wanted to get involved in city politics because he has seen how hard it is for residents to find work and pay property taxes. He also was inspired to participate in politics by this summer’s flap over noisy motorcycles in downtown Belfast.
“I want to be the voice of people who have been here their whole lives,” he said.
A lot of those people, Knight asserted in the forum, have not forgotten the controversy generated more than 10 years ago when people in Belfast hotly debated whether to allow big-box stores such as Walmart to come to the community. A voter referendum to limit the size of such stores to 75,000 square feet was passed, and the Belfast City Council years later created a zone for such stores to be located off Route 3.
But Knight said that he and others in Belfast recall that the council stood in the way of development.
“The majority of people voted to have these things come to Belfast, yet the council opted to not have them come in,” Knight said in the forum.
Mortier, who moved to Belfast full time in the 1990s and works as a Realtor for GRF Real Estate, said that Wal-Mart’s decision to not come to Belfast can be more correctly tied to the global recession that began in late 2007.
“I think there are pockets of thriving and pockets of not-thriving, and plenty in between,” she said of the current state of affairs in Belfast. “We are in need of more jobs at many different skill and salary levels in Waldo County and in Belfast.”
Knight suggested that as a city councilor, he would like to increase business and development in places like the routes 1 and 3 corridors outside of downtown.
“There’s plenty of property that could be developed,” he said, adding that he would like to see Belfast become more of a service center community for people who live within a 20-mile radius of the city.
Mortier, who also has served as the primary organizer of the city’s New Year’s By the Bay celebration for the last 14 years, said that she has the experience to help Belfast find the right businesses to fit in the community. She also said that she is a proponent of the Belfast Harbor Walk project, which she said could provide a huge economic development opportunity for the city.
“I believe this is a case of you build it and they will come,” she said. “I think that the time is now.”
She supports it even though the city will need to borrow some of the money because some promised state-bond money for the project is being withheld by Gov. Paul LePage.
Knight said that he disagrees with the idea of borrowing money for such a project. He also said that if he is elected to City Council, he would work to curb what he called municipal overspending, though he did not give details as to where he would try to make cuts, aside from the Harbor Walk.
“I’m here to fight for your rights,” he said. “I’m tired of seeing generations move out of the area because of lack of work. I’m here to support you.”
Mortier said that if she is elected, she has been very involved with the community and will be able to “jump in with both feet.”
“I love Belfast. I love Waldo County,” she said. “My husband and I could have chosen anywhere to move to and live, but this was the place that we chose.”
I am supporting Mary Mortier proudly.
every where I go in Belfast from THE grocery store to the local golf course to the Y people talk about the cost of living in Belfast. Taxes up 10% in one year and the city council continues to spend and borrow. This is not the time for $$$ for a “harborwalk, ” lovely blue signs pont ing the way to downtown, the harbor etc etc ( there are countless advertising signs from beauty parlors to dog parks . ) It is absolutely true and obvious that people with roots in Belfast for generations cannot or are unwilling to afford this town which is such a shame. ” If you (meaning us taxpayers) build it “they” will come does not make sense to me. Perhaps it makes sense to a R/E professional who may sell a locals house to someone “from away” or to the lodging industry and so on.
Mary Mortier has the experience and vision to have a positive impact on Belfast for ALL residents. Beyond being an active realtor, Mary has extensive business and economic development background. She’s been the executive director of New Years By the Bay for 10 years, she’s served on the board and been president of Belfast Rotary (think “service beyond self”), Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Belfast Garden Club, Midcoast Council of Realtors and has served on countless local committees, including currently the Economic Development and Restructuring Committee of Our Town Belfast. Ever attended one of those Rotary pancake breakfasts at the Shriners Hall or during Belfast Harbor Fest (fundraisers for local food cupboards and scholarships)? Mary would have been there doing a superb job organizing. Anyone remember the huge fire on Northport Ave in 1992? Rather than taking an easy route out, Mary painstakingly restored the “Pitcher House” to its former splendor using local workers and buying materials locally. Mary is intelligent, informed, dedicated to this community, involved. Voting for Mary is a no-brainer. I support her 100%.
If Belfast is looking for a change for the better than please cast your vote for Chris Knight. Lets not continue with a council with a status quo. The City of Belfast needs new blood on the council and someone who is going to work for change for the better and that man is Chris. Chris has spent countless hours volunteering with multiple non profits to help people in need in Waldo County. He is a member of Belfast Masonic Lodge #24 and Anah Shrine, helping those children who are in need. He has worked long hours with myself raising money for families in Waldo County suffering from cancer. Chris is someone with a big heart that will go the extra mile to help anyone who needs it and is committed to making the changes in Belfast to help lower taxes and keep Belfast growing in a positive direction and make it affordable for all families who live in the city. If you want a change and have someone on the council who will stand up for you and what is right, vote for Chris. Lets not let things just continue on like changes dont be made.
Belfast needs someone who will stand up to the absurdity of the present City Council. Someone who thinks outside of the current box. The box is that Belfast should be like Camden, Bar Harbor, or Boothbay. Belfast is simply a place to come and look at the “pretty harbor”, stupid art in the streets, hippies hanging out twanging on guitars, and hairy arm pitted women walking in the streets with their tank tops on! A melting pot of cultural diversity and stink. People from away need to go and put the locals back into office.