Judy Colby had said in February, she wouldn’t be standing for reelection. “But a lot of people came to me when they found out I wasn’t running,” she said. “They asked me to reconsider, and there are issues before the town, and I want to be part of the decision-making process.”

Colby is currently board chair. She has been a selectman for eight years altogether, and served on the budget committee for four years. She retired from Raytheon in New Hampshire in 2005, and worked as a school bus driver in Wiscasset for 10 years.

Colby said she is hopeful the town will come together in the wake of the town pulling out of the Maine Department of Transportation lawsuit. “Whether we like it or not, the project is moving forward. We need the Haggett garage parking lot, and the select board has reached out to MDOT to see what can be done.” Colby said she was impressed with MDOT project manager Ernie Martin’s presentation on the project. “I think people will be surprised – I think there will be a lot more foot traffic.” Colby would be open to the idea of Main Street Maine helping the town revitalize the downtown area. “We do need some restoration. If Main Street can bring it to Wiscasset, I’m all for it.”  She said she is hoping the Chamber of Commerce and the local merchants work together to advertise businesses during the construction period.

Colby said she is concerned about levels of school spending when there are so few students. “I don’t know how to entice families to Wiscasset,” she said. “What are  the issues with the schools? People are moving out of town to other school districts.” She said her preference would be to “outsource” high school students to other local high schools, especially Lincoln Academy. “We could make a very fine K-8 school at the old Middle High School,” she said. “But people in this town can’t afford the school budget continually going up.”  She said that by her reckoning, the cost to educate a high school student in Wiscasset is about $17,000, almost twice what it would cost to educate him or her at another school. Because the school population is so low – 220 students in the Middle High School program – the cost to offer a full slate of classes is much higher per pupil, especially when electives are added into the mix. “We wouldn’t want students not to have those kinds of programs,” she said. “But that might mean that a larger school can offer the programs for a lot less than what we can.”

Colby said Wiscasset needs to invest in itself. “We should create a tax incremental financing agreement at Mason Station. Peregrine Technologies could be a cornerstone of an industrial development that would bring in good paying jobs.” She added that other vacant properties could soon go on the market.

She thinks losing the town planner was a major mistake. “The planner brought in far more in funding to the town than his position cost the town. A lot of the work that has already been done at Mason Station was done with grant monies that Ben (Averill) brought in. Whatever we call the position, we need someone who can do that work.” She said several committees and commissions are having trouble fulfilling their missions because there is no town planner. “He was the person who helped with everything from sending out notices to making copies and writing agendas. He kept them all on track, and without their own budgets, they can’t just do these things themselves.”

She sees economic development as the biggest concern the town has. “In order to move the town forward, we need to bring business to town. We need everything from mom and pop shops on Main and Water streets to big box stores.” Colby said she is in favor of developing Route 27 with larger chain stores, including possibly even big box stores like Rite Aid, Walmart, and more. “I shop everywhere. When I need something that is offered at one of the downtown merchants, I go there. I go to Ames. I go to Big Al’s. But I also shop at Walmart when I have to. That’s what everyone does. We should have access to all those kinds of stores in our own community. We shouldn’t have to drive to Brunswick or Damariscotta when we could be offering that kind of business here.”