Harpswell Select Board member David Chipman is running for reelection against a write-in challenger, fishing industry advocate Jerry Leeman III.
Chipman points to his vast wealth of experience serving on town boards and committees, while Leeman says he is running because Harpswell has been placing too many restrictions on private property rights.
No other candidates have entered the race for Chipman’s seat on the three-member board. The other two seats, held by Jane Covey and Chair Kevin Johnson, aren’t up for election this year. The deadline to qualify for the ballot was Jan. 9.
The election will coincide with the annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 9, at Harpswell Community School. The polls for the election will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., while the business meeting will commence at 10 a.m. Absentee ballots are available until Wednesday, March 6.
David Chipman
Harpswell Select Board member David Chipman said he is seeking reelection to continue his efforts to “preserve some semblance” of what has made the town a special place for generations.
Chipman said Harpswell needs experienced leadership in a time of rising challenges and rapid change.
“I look at something (and ask), ‘Is it going to hurt our culture and our sense of community if we do these things?’ and I will speak against those kinds of moves,” he said in a recent interview.
Chipman, 73, has roughly a decade of experience serving on the Select Board, from 1999 to 2002 and 2017 to the present. He serves as the board’s liaison to the town’s Bandstand, Energy and Technology, Mitchell Field, and Recycling committees.
A retired telecommunications professional, Chipman volunteers at Harpswell Community Television, run by his partner, Donna Frisoli, and is president of three nonprofits — the TV station, Harpswell Neck Physical Education Association and Harpswell Neck Library Association.
Chipman, of Harpswell Neck, added that he taught elementary school swimming to Harpswell kids for 24 years and has worked as a volunteer for missionaries in Haiti, Peru and Honduras. He is a former chair of both the Select Board and Planning Board, a two-time former school board member, and has served on “nearly every town committee,” he said.
“My father was very, very active in volunteering for the community — he was a volunteer fire chief for 30-some-odd years,” he said. “And I’ve sort of followed in his footsteps, I guess.”
Chipman traces his lineage all the way back to Harpswell’s founding and said his own ancestor signed the town’s articles of incorporation in 1758. He said that history helps guide his decision-making, especially when it comes to proposals that could significantly alter the local culture.
As an example, Chipman noted that he drafted a new policy on streetlights for the town that strategically places lights only where needed for safety reasons, thus ensuring the town’s character won’t be ruined by excessive lighting.
“There are folks who want streetlights all over the place, because they come from a place where there are a lot of streetlights. They’re sort of afraid of the dark,” Chipman said. “I fight those kinds of things.”
Chipman added that he encourages new residents to reflect on what they like about Harpswell. “What brings you here and why do you love it so much?” he said.
He acknowledged recent criticism of the Select Board by groups, including some fishermen, who believe it seeks to impose too many restrictions on property owners. Chipman said he opposes unnecessary regulation, but that sometimes rules are needed to protect Harpswell’s future.
For example, Chipman said he helped create the town’s two commercial fishing zones for coastal areas “to prevent residential development from pushing the working waterfront out of Harpswell.”
He noted that many of Harpswell’s rules pertaining to land use are mandated by the state and can’t be rescinded. The Select Board has pushed back against the state in some instances, he said, but often the rules are in place to protect the environment.
“With 117 miles of shoreline, nearly everything we do has an effect on the marine environment,” Chipman said. “We’re required to have ordinances, but with care, we have crafted them for Harpswell’s unique needs while being acceptable to the state.”
Chipman said when it comes to issues facing Harpswell, the Select Board has the last word and ultimate responsibility to make sure roads, schools, emergency services, solid waste facilities and many other essential functions of local government are running smoothly and efficiently.
“It’s not all pleasant, but it’s a job that has to be done,” he said. “There’s quite a lot to it, and I will continue to do those things, and speak for the locals, for the generations that have lived here before me.”
Jerry Leeman III
A latecomer to the Harpswell Select Board race said he is running at the behest of local residents and business owners who believe the town has been putting too many restrictions on property owners.
Fishing industry advocate Jerry Leeman III, of Orr’s Island, announced Feb. 5 that he is running as a write-in candidate for a seat on the Select Board.
Leeman cited as an example of town overreach the recent formation of a task force to research and possibly propose regulations on short-term housing rentals in Harpswell.
“I don’t believe that anybody should have the right to dictate (what happens on) somebody else’s property,” he said in a recent interview. “Why do we have a committee based on something that was never an issue?”
Leeman, who has no experience serving on local boards or committees, pushed back against Chipman and other critics who Leeman said have called him a one-issue candidate. While he couldn’t name any other issues he is concerned about aside from property rights, Leeman said that’s because he is reserving judgment until he learns more about them.
“I don’t want to jump ahead of the gun … until I can see everything in front of me, and I want to see the numbers, and I want to have the real talks with the individuals (on) these committees, and we’ll address things one at a time,” he said.
Leeman is a Harpswell native, former commercial fisherman, and founder and CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, which lobbies to protect the region’s commercial fishing interests. The group has come out as a strong opponent of floating offshore wind farm development, among other issues.
Leeman has consistently expressed skepticism about the impact of climate change on the region’s fishing interests. He characterized recent storms that caused flooding and coastal destruction as merely bad luck — a confluence of severe weather, high winds and an astronomical high tide.
“What are the odds of those happening again?” he said. “(There are) a thousand variables there, and three of them just (happened) at the same time. The other time that was pretty much the same as this was in 1978, so again, what are you asking? Are you wondering why a 50-year-old wharf fell apart?”
Leeman said he would negotiate disputes between longtime residents and newcomers to Harpswell by speaking with both sides and then evaluating the merits of their respective arguments.
“We don’t pass judgment without proof. There’s nothing wrong with being a logical human being. I’m a No Labels candidate,” he said, referring to the U.S. political organization whose stated mission is to support centrism and bipartisanship through what it calls the “common sense majority.”
Leeman’s campaign literature emphasizes working collaboratively with all interests to help Harpswell evolve while still honoring its unique character and history.
“I will help maintain a balance for residents and working businesses to have a strong future,” a campaign flier on Leeman’s Facebook page says. “That’s the legacy and heritage I want to pass on to our future generations. I pledge to create an environment where all voices are valued and respected.”
After spending more than two decades primarily at sea, Leeman admits to only recently starting to pay attention to local governance issues, but said he is a quick study who can learn the job while doing it.
Leeman said he is already extremely busy with his advocacy work but would make time for his Select Board duties if elected. That would include setting aside time to meet and discuss issues with constituents, he said.
“All you have to do is pick up the phone,” Leeman said. “I will make myself available.”
