BELFAST, Maine — Two people will duke it out for one contested seat on the Belfast City Council on Election Day, with two other candidates running unopposed for the other open seats.
The race to represent Ward 5, on the east side of the Passagassawakeag River, will pit Kassie Merrill, a clinical social worker who has lived in Belfast for a little more than a year against John Arrison, who describes himself as a “jack of all trades” and who ran unsuccessfully for the same position four years ago. Current Councilor Nancy Hamilton said recently she will not throw her hat into the ring again.
“I’m really passionate about our community,” Merrill, 31, said last week. “I’d been looking for a way to give back to a community that I really love.”
Arrison, who didn’t disclose his age, moved to Belfast 20 years ago to work at the Penobscot Marine Museum. For the last eight years, he said he has been “semi-retired,” and has pursued many interests, including sailing, volunteering with the local church council, serving on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Waldo County and teaching courses at the University of Maine and Elderhostel.
“I have a lot of experience working for boards and working with boards,” he said. “You have responsibility for other people’s money and responsibility for the well-being of other people. That means I’m not in it for myself.”
Neal Harkness, the long-time chairman of the Waldo County Democratic Committee, is running for Ward 2, and incumbent Councilor Mary Mortier of Ward 1 is running unopposed for her position. Councilors Michael Hurley, of Ward 4, and Eric Sanders, of Ward 3, will not face re-election until next year.