Vassalboro Voters Manifest Their Independent Streak
By Susan M. Cover
Doug Grosso hasn't decided whom he will support in the governor's race this year, but it won't be either of the major candidates....
Grosso, 52, isn't the only person in Vassalboro who is undecided about whom he will support for governor with less than four weeks to go until the Nov. 7 election. |
Grosso, 52, isn't the only person in Vassalboro who is undecided about whom he will support for governor with less than four weeks to go until the Nov. 7 election...
Grosso, who was an usher at Baldacci's inauguration, said the sitting governor isn't conservative enough for him.
"I don't dislike him intensely," he said. "I just tend to be a little more conservative."
As for Woodcock, Grosso said he is too closely aligned with President Bush. He said he liked independent Gov. Angus S. King Jr., and supports Republican U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
Vassalboro, a bedroom community between Augusta and Winslow, is unique among Kennebec County towns for its close margin in the 2002 governor's race.
Four years ago, Baldacci edged out his closest competition in Vassalboro by a mere five votes. Baldacci got 726 votes, Republican Peter Cianchette got 721, Green Independent Jonathan Carter got 139 and independent John Michael got 41 votes.
In only one other Kennebec County town was the margin closer. In Clinton, Cianchette beat Baldacci by one vote, with Carter getting 80 votes and Michael 21.
Like many central Maine towns, Vassalboro once had a thriving mill as a major employer. But the American Woolen Co., which made blankets for the military, closed in 1955, according to the Vassalboro Historical Society.
Now most people in the town of 4,230 work elsewhere, with short commutes to Augusta to the south, or Winslow or Waterville to the north....
Results on Election Day will show whether Vassalboro voters stay in the middle, or make a strong statement by backing one candidate over the rest.
