ROCKLAND, Maine — A board empowered to oversee freight and passenger transportation in Rockland sails under the radar so much that this year no one is seeking its open seat.
The deadline for candidates to file nomination papers for the five-year seat on the Rockland Port District is Monday afternoon at 4:30. City Clerk Stuart Sylvester said no one has taken out papers as of Thursday.
The Rockland Port District was created by an act of the Maine Legislature in 1951. The law required the creation of a five-member board of trustees to be elected in staggered terms each year by Rockland voters.
The trustees were empowered to “do all that is necessary to insure adequate freight and passenger transportation facilities, including the purchase, lease or rental of land, wharves and docks necessary or desirable for the establishment of adequate docking and wharf facilities in the city of Rockland.”
Richard Spear, chairman of the board, has served on the the board since 1954, having been elected 13 times. The 94-year-old Rockland resident said it has been at least 30 years since a candidate has not been on the ballot for the board.
If no one gets on the Nov. 8 ballot to fill the seat being vacated by Edward Glaser, the city council will appoint someone to fill the post. Glaser, a former Rockland harbormaster, is running for one of two seats on the Rockland City Council.
The Port District initially owned the property where the Maine Ferry Service operates its vessels to Vinalhaven, North Haven and Matinicus. The state took that property by eminent domain in 1995. The state paid the Port District about $333,000 for the land, which the Port District has used to finance projects such as creating docking facilities for schooners in Lermond’s Cove a decade ago.
A Rockland resident needs to collect 15 signatures to get on the ballot. The trustees of the Port District receive no compensation.