MAYA CAINES
Town Council Candidate
Maya’s Bio
Maya’s time in Maine began over a decade ago, when she transferred to the University of Maine. There, she studied marine biology and economics, focusing on how people interact with their environment. In Bar Harbor, she worked at the Jackson Laboratory and the Town of Bar Harbor. She now works at College of the Atlantic as the Director of Residence Life and Student Experience. Maya has served on the Town Council for the past three years, mediating and communicating council, staff, committee, and resident perspectives while working towards the council’s goals.
QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
Why are you running?
I am running because I believe it’s important for the Town Council to represent the whole community. Over the last three years, we have been making progress on the issues that matter to our residents, with a focus on stabilizing taxes, housing, communication, and civic participation. It’s important to continue making strides towards success on these issues.
We asked this last year, but I think it’s really important to ask again. Do you have any ideas for increasing revenue to the town and alleviating the tax burden on property owners? Do you have any ideas for decreasing expenses?
As a town, we have talked about local options tax for a long time, but state level elected officials have halted our progress so far. With that being said, I think we should focus most of our energy on what we can control as a town.
One potential revenue lever involves implementing municipal service/user fees for customers of tourism-based businesses. Many tourist destinations do this through fee structures the municipality can control. For me, this would involve an ongoing conversation between local businesses and municipal government, couched within our current conversations around sustainable tourism.
Tax stabilization was one of the first priorities we set when I was first elected three years ago. I’m proud of the work we’ve done this year with the taxes that are within the municipal budget. Unfortunately, many costs, such as the high school budget and assessment fees, alongside deferred infrastructure maintenance, are outside of the council’s purview – and people are also feeling rising cost of living in general. This is why identifying additional revenue streams is so important.
My hope is that we continue stabilizing the budget and better inform taxpayers further in advance when large costs are anticipated.
Finally, the work happening in town is not always felt in residents’ daily lives. This creates a disconnect where the people of Bar Harbor see higher costs and don’t see what is being accomplished. I look forward to the town implementing projects like Safe Streets For All Plan and the Infrastructure Workplan. These projects will improve roads and sidewalks and have a tangible effect on people in the town.
What skills do you bring to the table?
I am an open minded person who takes in perspectives from anyone in the town, regardless of their background. I am able to balance sticking to my core beliefs and integrate these values into my work. My job requires me to mediate disagreements and conflicts between parties within the larger ecosystem of an academic institution. In town government, I have served a similar role, understanding how different parts of the whole work together. Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with you, I think you’ll find I will give most ideas a fair hearing and evaluate them based on their content, not the person or institution they are originating from. This skillset is highly important in the context of a town that can be polarizing and create an “us vs. them” mentality. I am focused on solutions, not blindly pushing through an agenda and not making sure a certain individual or side “wins.” It’s not about that for me.
What is it about Bar Harbor that you love?
I love this community. Although there appears to be a lot of ill-will and meanness in the virtual realm and in the opinion pages and comment sections of local publications, real life interactions prove the exact opposite. For most Bar Harbor residents, personal beliefs don’t matter when others are in need. For example, the internet can be the site of a lot of negativity, but it’s also a place where I see people coordinating help for each other, bartering and swapping, and assisting each other find short-term or long-term housing and employment.
In a world where it can feel like everyone is looking out for their own self interest, we live in a place where community support is evergreen.
What do you think is the most important issue facing Bar Harbor? What are some things that you feel like the town should be focusing on, but isn’t?
Housing and infrastructure improvements are always top of mind for me and something the town is currently ramping up work on. I look forward to continuing that work and advocating for those in this community that are currently renting.
When I first moved here, I was lucky enough to find a year round apartment and then moved into my partner’s childhood home. It is not lost on me that this was all extremely circumstantial and entirely based on luck. Housing is a human right and should be available to those who wish to call this town home. I think we are finally moving towards solutions as a town.
We are also currently working on committee structures and support. Right now, the council feels disconnected from town boards and committees. All of these groups are full of smart people doing important work but there is a lack of collaboration, which decreases efficiency. I believe we would be able to get a lot more done and work towards solving problems if we found better ways for our town boards and committees to work with the council. That’s why I am excited to finish and begin implementing the work we have started in this area.
I would also like the town to continue to explore how we handle municipal waste. Currently, municipal waste accounts for over $1 million in the town’s budget and could be managed in a way to meet the town’s climate and affordability goals.
What have you done for yourself that you’re the most proud of? What have you done for the community that you’re the most proud of?
I’m proud of my ability to connect with people and build relationships between them. I’m proud of the time I’ve spent serving on the town council for this reason as well. I believe I have a strong ability to synthesize the perspectives, objectives and capabilities of the Town Council, town staff, committees, and the public.
I have done this by advocating for public comment to be allowed on agenda items throughout council meetings, which has increased communication between the public and the Town Council. I have also worked with Council Chair Val Peacock to meet with committees and better understand their work. This improves communication between the Town Council and town committees. I also routinely update residents about the municipal process and ongoing priorities, which helps increase public understanding of staff work.
What’s a question that I should be asking you that I’m not asking?
This is the same question I used last time but I still believe it is important: What perspectives would you like to see represented on the Town Council?
I want a council who represents the diversity of this town. Having a council with diverse perspectives and lived experiences is invaluable in a small community like ours. This mean having a council with people who own small businesses, work for nonprofits, work in the service industry, rent, are retired, and come from a variety of other backgrounds. Since the problems facing Bar Harbor are diverse and multifaceted, the perspectives working to solve them should be as well.