ME: Independent Candidate Touts Local Experience in Local Government

From Maine Campus:

John Whitcomb, an Independent candidate in the 2010 Maine gubernatorial election, works seven days a week as a marine electrician at Bath Iron Works, a shipyard in Sagadahoc County. He can’t afford to leave work to campaign.

“It’s a little harder for the ones that aren’t frontrunners,” Whitcomb said. “I’m at a huge disadvantage.” Whitcomb grew up in Waterville and lives in Sidney, a town of about 3,500 between Augusta and Waterville. He has been a selectman there for the past six years, serving as chairman for the past three. He said the experience of overseeing a town’s finances on a small budget has prepared him for state leadership.