AUGUSTA, Maine — Gary Fortier, a city councilor in Ellsworth, and Augusta City Manager William “Bill” Bridgeo are the latest officials to join the 12-member executive committee at the Maine Municipal Association.
Bridgeo and Fortier said naming a successor to Executive Director Christopher G. Lockwood, who recently retired after 36 years as head of the organization, will be the executive committee’s top, immediate priority.
Stephen Gove, MMA’s deputy director, is filling in as interim executive director while a national search for Lockwood’s successor is underway.
“My career in city government has given me a strong appreciation of the high level of professionalism and dedication to good local government that MMA epitomizes,” Bridgeo, who has served the city of Augusta since 1998, said. “MMA is at an important juncture right now with new leadership coming aboard, and I hope I can assist in that transformation.”
Fortier said the decision on choosing Lockwood’s successor “is going to shape the future of the organization for quite possibly a decade or more.”
“During the past 23 years in municipal government, I have had the opportunity to grow better in large part because of the assets of MMA, whether at the annual convention, local training opportunities or using the manuals offered by the organization,” Fortier said. “As I get closer to the end of my municipal service, I have a chance to give back or forward, depending on your outlook, to the association and its membership.”
Bridgeo and Fortier took office this summer. Two other MMA executive committee members — Calais Mayor Marianne Moore and Glenburn Town Manager Michael Crooker — were re-elected to new, three-year terms.
Founded in 1936, the MMA provides a variety of services to its 486 member municipalities, including advocacy, education, information and legal and personnel advice.