The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Bar Harbor Historical Society.
SOUTHWEST HARBOR—Kalie Hess resigned from the Southwest Harbor Select Board Tuesday, saying she had reached a point where she could no longer give her family, work, and public service the attention she wanted to give each.
“I need to put my kids first right now,” Hess told the other members near the end of the September 8 Select Board meeting.
Hess, who was elected to the board in May 2026, said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve and hoped someone else who has considered serving would step forward when the town fills the seat.
“This is not easy to do, but I’m going to be resigning from the Select Board as of today,” Hess said. “I’m just finding that it’s very hard for me to do this with my family, …, and my work commitments.”
Balancing the demands of a town Select Board, which often had two or more meetings a month this summer as the town looked toward refining its soil ordinance, tackling short-term rentals, a new paid parking program, and several infrastructure products can always be difficult.
Hess wanted to make sure that she was giving Southwest Harbor her best attention.
“Ultimately, I was unable to give my work, family, and service on the Select Board the attention I would like to devote to each. I decided that stepping down was the right decision for me and my family, and I’m grateful to the residents of Southwest Harbor for the opportunity to serve,” she said in a statement to the Bar Harbor Story, Tuesday night. “When the town moves forward with filling the seat, I hope someone who has considered serving will step up. It’s an important way to contribute to the community, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to do it.”
She was thanked by other members of the board for her time and attention.
Hess and Melanie Lisy were elected to the board in May 2026. Out of 914 votes cast, Lisy received 269 votes; Hess received 259; Tom Benson received 178; and Chapin McFarland received 152.
Hess is the associate director of the Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine.
She’d previously said, “I’m running because I care deeply about this community and want to be part of the work of helping it thrive. Living here and raising my kids here has made me feel really invested in Southwest Harbor, and I want to contribute in a meaningful way. I also believe local government works best when people are willing to step up, listen, and work together to solve problems.”
Select Board Chair Dan Norwood thanked Hess for her service to the town and said that they all understood families and the need to prioritize family needs. “Thank you very much for your service and we perfectly understand.”
From the public, Michael Levesque asked what the process would be for filling Hess’ seat.
“That will be determined at a later time,” Norwood said.
We have asked for a copy of Hess’ resignation letter and have not received it at press time, but it is incoming and we’ll update the story, with it. We have not received a response from the town about the process for filing Hess’ seat. Once we do, we’ll let you know.
HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY
When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other.
We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going.
If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship.
It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light.
Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now.
Thank you so much for being here.
Founding member information can be found here.
Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you.
UPDATE: The quote from Kalie Hess about her reasons has been changed. While I heard “parents,” it may have been “as parents,” and Hess said that her parents were not a reason. Since she knows her reasons better than I ever could, I’ve omitted “parents” and put in an ellipses instead. This change was made at 10:42 a.m., September 9, 2026.
The article should have mentioned how long a term of office she was elected to fill, so readers could form an opinion as to whether her feeling able to serve only four months of a three-year term showed good judgement in running for election at all.