There are three open Rockport Select Board seats up for election June 9 at annual Town Meeting. Four candidates are seeking election to two of the seats that carry three-year terms. Those candidates are incumbents Kimberlee Graffam and Michael Thompson, as well as Samantha Appleton and Darren Robbins. 

The one-year seat will fill out the remaining three-year term vacated by Select Board member Michelle Hannan, who resigned from the Rockport Select Board last winter. For that one-year seat, there are three candidates: Linda Greenlaw, Craig Mitchell and Geoffrey Parker.

Penobscot Bay Pilot has posed questions to each candidate, providing the opportunity for the public to better understand their positions on issues. Here, candidate Linda Greenlaw responds:

Please provide a brief biography of yourself, explain why you decided to seek a seat on the Select Board, and what you are hoping to accomplish.

I was born and raised in Rockport.  My father was a volunteer Fire Chief and Constable.  My parents sold the property where the current Police Station is in the 1960s.  My mother was born and raised and always lived in Rockport. I am married and have one daughter and a granddaughter who live here, as well.

My husband and I built a home in Rockport in 1984.  I became Deputy Clerk for Rockport in August of 1996 and Clerk in July of 1998.  I retired in January of 2023, 25 years later.

During my time as Clerk I was appointed several times as acting as Acting Town Manager. I accomplished several tasks, including getting Camden First Aid agreement and library lease with Blu Aqua signed, and hiring of fire chief when Bruce Woodard retired.

What are Rockport’s greatest strengths, and how do you hope to support them?

We are fortunate to have great Police and Fire Departments, Opera House, Library, Harbor, EMS Service and Hospital.  My hope is to give back to the Town by serving the residents and being available by listening to their opinions and concerns.

What are Rockport’s greatest issues to address?

In my opinion, the greatest issues we are presently facing in Rockport are taxes, housing, sewer, and school budget.

Rockport has several land use ordinance and subdivision ordinance amendments on the June 9 Annual Town Meeting warrant, including adjustments to the zoning map. Have you read through the proposed amendments and do you approve the changes?

I have read the Land Use Ordinance.  I prefer to allow each resident to make his/her own decision.  It is a secret ballot, and I value that.

The current Select Board has discussed establishing a Regionalization Task Force (April 13 SB meeting, conversations starts at 1:55:34). What is your perception of what that means, and do you have ideas of how Rockport could collaborate with other municipalities to improve on best practices, collaborations, and/or reduce the annual financial load on taxpayers for town operations?

Regarding regionalization, I feel that it would be wise to wait and see what the Committee suggests.  We already have a mutual aid agreement with Fire and Police services, share an Assessor, and belong to Midcoast Solid Waste.  Maybe we should work on the Sewer Department more seriously to share resources and save costs for all towns involved.

As a Select Board member, how will you help ensure all villages (Rockville, Glen Cove, Simonton Corner, West Rockport and Rockport Village) all receive equal attention and investment by the town? 

I would like to see that all villages receive equal attention.  It is important to listen to residents from all sections of Rockport.  Meetings for each village in would allow us to hear the issues that are important to each Rockporter.

The town has received a 90/10 grant from the Maine Dept. of Transportation to design (not build) a pathway from the intersection of routes 1 and 90 to the high school, as outlined in the 2024 Sewall Transportation Infrastructure Study for Rockport. Do you support investing in the design and build of a Route 90 pathway?

I support having a pathway on Route 90 to the high school and the elementary school.  It will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, providing access to the Library as well as the YMCA.

What is your opinion on the Rockport budget process, and the working relationship between the Select Board and the Budget Committee?

Regarding the budget process, the Budget Committee and the Select Board would have separate meetings with the Town Manager and Department heads.  Then there would be joint meetings to discuss their thoughts and come up with an agreement on the final articles and the budget to present to the voters.

How will you advocate for the Rockport taxpayer as you help shape and govern a municipal budget, and juggle various interests that request municipal funding throughout the year?

I will work to listen to the department heads, Town Manager and Budget Committee to shape a budget that will provide services to our residents while keeping in mind the costs.

Have you read the Rockport Municipal Charter and does it need amending?

I have read the Charter and was part of the process when the Charter was established.  I attended all of the meetings.  I don’t suggest any changes at this time.

Rockport and Camden signed a five-year wastewater agreement in May 2025, which terminated lawsuits between the two towns, and “emphasized their mutual commitment to cooperation and shared goals,” said a two-town press release last year. Do you think Rockport should, for the long term (four years from now), continue sending its wastewater to Camden (and Rockland) or focus on building its own wastewater facility, as it proposed to voters in 2024? That measure failed at the polls but the idea is not forgotten.

Regarding wastewater policies, if the agreement is working, we should continue with it.  We should listen and learn from our residents and the pertinent committees and overseers on future needs and agreements,

How do you see Rockport fitting into the greater regional economy and culture?

Our Town has a lot to offer our residents, neighboring communities and visitors.  We have Holiday on the Harbor, Donut Hole Festival, programs and events at the Opera House, Library, and schools. We are also fortunate to have Pen Bay Medical Center, with several great professionals (doctors and nurses), and the YMCA, which offers a multitude of programs as well as daycare. 

What is the importance of local government, and how do you see yourself, as a Select Board member, in it?

As a Select Board member, I will listen to residents, fulfill the duties and bylaws of the Select Board, and work with the Town Manager and committees by being fair and impartial.

What municipal committee(s) would you like to be a liaison to, and why?

As a new member of the Select Board, I am willing to serve as liaison to any committee.  I feel that I would be more knowledgeable on the Library or Opera House Committees from my past experience as Town Clerk.

Free space! Is there anything else you'd like to say to the voters that we haven’t considered?

I look forward to serving on the Select Board so that I can do my very best to give back to the Town.  I appreciate and value my 27 years as an employee of the Town, serving the residents of Rockport, my hometown.