The Waldo County Democratic Committee is recommending three people with extensive experience in local government — Belfast mayor Eric Sanders, Northport Select Board Chair Breanna Pinkham Bebb and County Treasurer Owen Smith — to fill the county commissioner seat left vacant when Betty Johnson died this month.
Gov. Janet Mills will appoint the commissioner, who will serve on an interim basis until Johnson’s term ends on Dec. 31 2026. Voters will choose a commissioner to serve a four-year term at the election this November.
The candidates would resign from their current positions in local government if they were to be appointed, said Valerie Tate, vice chair of the Waldo County Democratic Committee.
“We were pleased to have three well-qualified candidates willing to serve and proud to send the slate of all three candidates to the governor for her decision with the results of our deliberations,” Waldo County Democratic Committee Chair S. Paige Zeigler said Sunday.
The vacancy comes as Waldo County is in the midst of a budget crisis. In December, the commission proposed a 2026 budget that amounted to a 36% hike over the year before — which drew immediate public outcry. On Friday, it released a new budget proposal that calls for a 17% increase.
The county budget committee, on which Bebb sits, is responsible for approving the budget. It will meet on Jan. 27 to discuss the revised spending proposal.
In addition to preparing county budgets, commissioners are responsible for fiscal and policy decisions affecting the county.