Tuesday, June 14 is Election Day and there are a number of items on the ballot. While the municipal budget will be reviewed and approved by Town Council, the school budget requires a referendum election. In addition to voting on the school budget, there is also a vote to fill the vacancy on Town Council. Lastly, this is a primary election for the State of Maine. This will determine each party’s nomination of candidates for federal offices and State and County offices, and the candidates elected at the Primary qualify to appear on the November election ballot. Read on for more on the voting process and details of what appears on the ballot.

Town Manager Tom Hall and Superintendent Geoff Bruno presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2023 budget to Town Council on March 31 (Click Here to view slides). This year’s school budget proposal reflects current concerns around the wellbeing of students, staff and community. Learning recovery, social and emotional needs, and ongoing pandemic management protocols are considered as critical factors in all decision-making.

Since then, the School Board has reviewed the budget during public meetings and made adjustments to reduce the taxpayer impact. This document outlines the adjustments from Fiscal Year 2022 to 2023, as well as the proposed budget by Leadership Council and proposed budget by the School Board (approved at School Board Second reading on May 5, 2022).

Click Here to view the original Leadership Council’s FY23 School Budget Proposal.

There are three candidates running to fill the open seat on Town Council. The vacancy was left when former councilor Paul Johnson resigned in March 2022. The elected candidate will fill the seat with a term to expire in 2024.

Peter Freilinger is a consultant and entrepreneur living in the Blue Point neighborhood. He grew up in Cape Elizabeth and after graduating from Harvard, spent 25 years building a career in finance and banking. He has held senior executive roles in San Francisco, Seattle, Alberta and London, and returned home to Scarborough in 2018 to be closer to family. His son is a fourth-grader at Wentworth and he is largely running to set an example to his son of civic engagement and being involved in the community. Freilinger serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Long Range Planning committee for Scarborough, and helped craft the 2021 Comprehensive Plan for our town.

Listen to the three candidates give their introductions and share their thoughts on various town issues during Candidates Night on April 27.

Nicholas McGee is a native Mainer and moved to Scarborough in 2010 with his wife and three children. He has a BA in political science and history from Providence College and is small business owner of Summit Property Management. McGee is an active member of the Scarborough community; he has served on the Scarborough Planning Board for 8 years, two as chairman, and was chair of the Ad Hoc Charter Review committee. He has also coached little league for 3 years and ran for Town Council in 2020.

Martin (Marty) Topol is a lawyer at Verrill Dana. He is a Princeton undergrad and graduated from University of Michigan Law in 2016. He has served as a law clerk for the US Court of Appeals in New Hampshire, and was an intelligence analyst for the FBI criminal investigative division in Washington D.C. Topol moved to Scarborough from Boston 18 months ago and lives here with his wife and dog. He is running for Town Council because he believes that public service is an important civic responsibility.

According to the State of Maine, offices included in the 2022 Primary Election are Governor, Representative to Congress (both districts), all 35 State Senate districts, all 151 State Representative districts, and the following county offices, which vary depending on the county: Judge of Probate, Register of Probate, County Treasurer, Register of Deeds, Sheriff, District Attorney and County Commissioner.

Learn more about the primary election and candidates on the ballot on the State of Maine website.

Click Here to see House and Senate Districts by Scarborough street address.

If you plan to vote by absentee ballot, first you will need to request it. Once receiving your ballot, you can vote absentee by mailing in your completed ballot or dropping it off at Town Hall. You can also vote in person by absentee ballot at Town Hall prior to Election Day.

Questions? Email clerk@scarboroughmaine.org

School budget questions? Email boe@scarboroughschool.org

Election questions? Email clerk@scarboroughmaine.org

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