YARMOUTH — Town Councilors Pat Thompson and Rob Waeldner are seeking re-election, and are both running uncontested for three-year terms in the June 14 election.

Pat Thompson

Thompson, a Realtor, has been on the council for four years, which included filling a one-year a vacancy along with one full term. She has lived in town for 17 years and said she is looking forward to her next term on the council.

“Having been in public service my entire life, this is a continuation of that,” she said.

Thompson serves on the council’s appointments committee, and is the town’s representative to the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System policy committee. She is also on the executive board of PACTS and on the board of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce.

She said she is looking forward to continuing her work on the town and school budgets each year.

“My goals are to really make sure the budget process we engage in fairly represents the needs of the community for all the residents,” she said. “I wanted to make sure all the residents are represented and that the money we are allocating is being spent well.”

Thompson was the one councilor who voted against the combined budget of $36 million this year, saying she did it because the budget didn’t represent the needs of everyone in town.

“I’m certainly not afraid to speak up on behalf of the constituency,” she said. “I think people appreciate that and feel that they have a spokesperson on the council.”

In her next term, Thompson said she hopes to do more for the elderly in Yarmouth and help them age in place. She said she’d also like to create programs for older residents.

Ideally, Thompson said, she’d like to help all Yarmouth residents.

“I’m really trying to do well by the citizens,” she said. “I love this town.”

Rob Waeldner

Waeldner, an attorney in private practice, has been on the Town Council since November 2014, when he filled a vacancy left by former councilor Steve Woods. He has lived in town for 18 years and is married with three kids in the Yarmouth school system.

Waeldner is the council’s liaison to the recycling committee, as well as the sports and recreation committee, and said he’s looking forward to his first full term.

“The council’s done a lot of good work, and I’d like to continue that good work,” he said. “We’ve kept the budget relatively flat and taxes have slightly reduced, but we’re also thinking of long-term plans for the needs of the town.”

Like Thompson, Waeldner said he’d like to make sure the budget reflects everyone’s needs.

“I’d like to continue working with the School Committee to balance the town’s needs and the school’s needs so it can continue to be one of the top school systems in Maine,” he said.

He added that he thinks more can be done to make more residents happy with the budget, as it was quite contentious this year.

“I think we could continue to improve our relationship with the School Committee and how we work together to achieve a final budget and avoid some of the dissatisfaction with residents this year,” he said.

Waeldner said in his next term he hopes to continue bringing unbiased reasoning and decision-making to the council.

“I think I’ve brought a thoughtful analysis to various issues before the council,” he said. “I don’t have an agenda I’m following. I look at each issue on its own.”

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

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