Woolwich voters will have a choice for selectman when they head to the polls for the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Don Adams is challenging incumbent David King Sr.

The polls are at the Woolwich Central School located on Nequasset Road. Polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Town Clerk Janice Bradford said residents can register to vote at the town office during business hours and also on Election Day. You must show both proper ID and proof of residency. Absentee ballots are available at the town office. For additional information, you can call the town clerk’s office at 207-442-8723.

Don Adams

Don Adams says he’s for “honesty and transparency” in town government. He’s carrying his message door-to-door to Woolwich residents in his first bid at elected office.

Adams is challenging longtime incumbent David King Sr. for his seat on the board of selectmen.

Sitting at the kitchen table of his Shaw Road home, Adams said he’s learned a great deal as far as what’s on people’s minds during three separate petition drives he’s been involved with over the past year.

“I listened to what folks have had to say and what I heard over and over from many of them is they can’t get the answers they need from their selectmen or at the town office,” he said. “I understand their frustration; they’re not happy with the status quo and neither am I.”

As an example, Adams cited the $50,688 raised by the town for the Patten Free Library in Bath. “This past year they were asking for a 3 percent increase in the donation. When I asked the town office and selectmen how many residents actually used the library, nobody could give me an answer. It wasn’t that I was against the town making a donation to the library, I simply wanted to know how that figure was arrived at.”

Adams petitioned to have the library funding moved to the General Election in November when there’d be a higher voter turnout. Instead the question was voted on and passed at the annual town meeting in May. “I didn’t think it was fair, and there were other options we could have looked into like maybe developing a voucher system for the 20 to 25 families in town that use the library,” he said.

Adams felt the same way on the pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) refuse program proposal, which also passed at this year’s town meeting. When selectmen rejected his first petition for reconsidering town membership in the program because of its wording, he circulated a second one that selectmen agreed to place on the November ballot.

He said he’s not against holding a town meeting, but thinks articles involving large sums of money such as funding for the library, or of a controversial nature like PAYT should wait until November.

“You could still have your debate on these articles at town meeting but hold off taking the vote until the General Election. That way, more people could vote and you’d have a better representation of the town. It just seems to me that’s the more democratic way of doing town business.”

As far as PAYT goes, Adams said he doesn’t think the townspeople are getting the whole story. “It might be true the amount the town pays in tipping fees (for non-recyclable trash) has gone down, but you also need to give consideration to people that have gone to private trash collection since PAYT has started.”

He said three different businesses have complained to him of residents throwing trash in their dumpsters to avoid buying the orange WasteZero bags.

“If voters decide they want to keep PAYT in November and I’m elected, I’ll fully support the will of the townspeople,” he continued, but added he’d personally continue using a private contractor to pick up his own trash.

On another matter, Adams said he was also concerned over the sudden resignations of the town’s longtime fire chief and EMT directors.

“Both of these individuals have worked very hard for the town and were very knowledgeable. I honestly think they understood their budgets much better than the board of selectmen. If they (the selectmen) had differences with them over how they were managing their budgets, they should have met with them individually and worked it out.”

Adams said he’s not a politician, adding the whole process of campaigning is a new experience for him. He was a former long haul truck driver before retiring. Adams stays busy doing volunteer work, including giving Gospel singing performances. He writes, plays and sings Gospel songs and hymns.

His wife, Eleanor Adams, is a personal care assistant. The Adamses belong to the Five Island’s Baptist Church in Georgetown.

Adams, 57, grew up in the Monmouth/West Gardiner areas. Before moving to Woolwich four years ago, he lived in Dresden. As far as the election goes he says, win or lose, he plans to stay active in the town affairs.

“If elected, I promise to do my best to keep our property taxes to where people that have lived here most of their lives can afford to stay,” he said.

David King Sr.

David King Sr. is fond of quoting President Calvin Coolidge, who said: “Collecting more taxes than is necessary is legalized robbery!”

King, Woolwich’s chairman of the board of selectmen, is being challenged by Don Adams. King has served 20 years on the board of selectman, 10 as chairman. He was on the planning board for 10 years; he has served several terms as its chairman.

Keeping property taxes down, said King, is his number one priority. “It’s our responsibility as selectmen to run the town as efficiently as possible. When we spend money on something, I have to be convinced it’s the best possible use of our tax dollars.

“Property taxes went down this year, not a lot, but at least we’re headed in the right direction,” he added.

King said selectmen are responsible for only 26 cents out of every tax dollar spent, the school and county budgets account for the rest. “There’s so much of the town budget that we (selectmen) simply don’t have very much control over,” he continued.

“This year (during the budget process) the town was looking at a $114,000 increase in the school budget,” he said, adding the town later learned that RSU 1 had received an extra $90,000 in state subsidy for Woolwich.

“The RSU could have spent the money this year, saved it for next year or credited the town. Selectman Lloyd Coombs and I attended the RSU 1 Board of Directors’ meeting and asked if they’d return the money to the town and they agreed to do so, which in turn saved the taxpayers of Woolwich a good deal of money. “My point being is that you need to stay on top of things like this and continually watch your revenue streams,” he said.

King said introducing pay-as-you-throw saved the town money as well. “We reduced the solid waste line of the budget $30,000 but we could actually wind up saving more.” Although the program’s only been going a month, King said the initial numbers look promising.

“If we continue to reduce our solid waste volume, we might consider cutting down our curbside trash pickup from two days a week to one, which would save us even more. The town will also share in the revenues from the sale of the WasteZero bags. It’s possible when we begin adding up all of this together, the solid waste line of the budget might actually come close to being self-sufficient,” he said.

King voted against having the PAYT/WasteZero referendum on the November ballot. “It was approved by the townspeople at the town meeting and for me that settled the issue at least for a year. We said at the time it could be revisited and voted down at next year’s town meeting if the people so desired.”

King referred to the Nov. 3 referendum vote as a “slap in the face” to voters who turned out for the town meeting.

“Our attorney advised us against holding the (PAYT) referendum, saying it was a redundant action.” He added if the referendum passes, and WasteZero is tossed out, there’s nothing to keep others from starting a new petition to reinstate the program.

King hopes the PAYT repeal effort will be defeated at the polls and town membership in the program will eventually do what WasteZero has promised: reduce trash disposal and relieve some of the tax burden. “That’s all the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee ever intended when they proposed this.”

Along with working to keep property taxes down, King said he’s proud of helping to restore the old Woolwich Town House at the corner of Stage Road and Dana Mills Road. “I think it’s very important to maintain our historic buildings and properties. I strongly believe in keeping up the maintenance of all the town’s infrastructure.”

Over the years King has had several different careers. He owned Taylor Rental in Brunswick from 1972 to 1988. After selling the business, he opened a NAPA Auto Parts store in Topsham that he owned from 1990 to 2010. He also briefly owned a NAPA store in Bath. King grew restless after retiring in 2010 and soon started another business, Midcoast Mooring & Diving. 

He is a member of the Wiscasset Yacht Club and serves on the board of directors. King is also a member of the Bath Elks. He turned 66 on Columbus Day. He and his wife Barbara have called Woolwich home since 1986. They live on Birchwood Road. Barbara King worked as a secretary for the Bath school department for 31 years before retiring.  The Kings belong to the Corliss Street Baptist Church in Bath.