Community Corner

Candidates Talk Future of Middlefield

Lake Beseck Association hosts candidate forum at Community Center.

With a month to go before the Nov. 8 election, a small group of Middlefield voters turned out Thursday night for a chance to meet several of the candidates on this year's ballot.

The Lake Beseck Association hosted its annual candidate forum at the Middlefield Community Center, where candidates for first selectman and the board of finance were given a chance to introduce themselves and highlight their campaign goals.

Dick Boynton, president of the LBA, said he believed finance board members played as important a role in the town's government as the board of selectman, but said only five percent of voters actually know the candidates.

Find out what's happening in Durham-Middlefieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The forum officially got underway when Boyton spun a coin to decide who would address the crowd first.

Lucy Petrella, Democratic candidate for first selectman, told the audience that her background as a teacher as well as her service on Middlefield's board of finance make her a good choice for first selectman.

Find out what's happening in Durham-Middlefieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's really critical for a first selectman, a leader of the town, to be very proactive, to make timely decisions and also, especially to follow through," she said.

Petrella laid out what she called her "action plan," which focuses on three areas: economic development, asset management and communication.

"I will work very closely with the economic development commission to make sure that the word gets out that Middlefield is a business friendly community, " she explained.

Petrella said she would work to restore the town's capitol fund which she said has been drained in recent years, as well as pursue grants and work closely with seniors, joking that she recently became one herself.

Her experience as a teacher and union negotiator, Petrella added, would allow her to work effectively with the board of education "in order to make sure that our school system maintains and improves the quality of education at an afforable price for us."

If elected, Petrella said she planned to open the first selectman's office during evenings or possibly on Saturday to allow residents to share their issues.

Following Petrella, incumbent first selectman Jon Brayshaw called public service a "labor of love."

"I feel comfortable to continue for another term," said Brayshaw, a Republican, who's seeking a fourth term in office. "The job seems to fit me, I'm retired, I'm going to be looking at 67 years old and I feel I'm qualified for the job."

Brayshaw spent several minutes talking about some of his accomplishments as first selectman, including the yet to be finalized sale of Powder Ridge, securing a $500,000 grant from the state for improvements at the ski area, as well as keeping the town's budget down.

"Every year we have a budget, every year we decide on a budget and every year for six years we've stayed under the budget by $200,000 to $300,000," he explained, while noting that no one person could take all of the credit for the accomplishments.

Brayshaw publicly thanked current selectman Mary Johnson, a democrat, who's stepping down after serving six years on the board to move to Maine.

"Mary has done a great job. We're going to be missing her," he said.

As for future plans, Brayshaw said he would like to increase the town's grand list while keeping spending in check. Other goals include expanding the town's website and moving into one town hall.

The discussion briefly turned to the increasing cost of the Lake Beseck sewer system, which one resident said was "extremely out of control."

Brayshaw acknowledged that some residents were "plugging up the system," resulting in increased maintenance and as a result, higher costs.

Some, including Petrella, suggested identifying sewer users responsible for the problems and possibly fining them, to which Boyton and several others said would be difficult due to the sewer system's makeup.

Petrella's running mate, Dave Burgess, a 24 year resident of the town who previously served as town treasurer and with the board of finance, spoke about his return to public service.

"Why I'm running, is basically I don't like what's happing to this country," he said. "I want to represent people. One of my best assets is listening to people, not only just listening but doing things about it, advocating."

Burgess' opponent on Nov. 8, incumbent selectman Ed Bailey, was unable to attend the forum, but wrote a letter that Boynton read.

Bailey said he hoped to continue the bipartisan work of the board while maintaining Middlefield's small town charm.

During the forum, the audience was introduced to the four candidates running for the board of finance, which include Democrats Jim Irish and Mary Wolak and Republicans Frank St. John and Mary Benedetto.

Stay tuned to Patch next week for profiles of all the candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here