Tuesday, November 7, 2023 is Election Day.  Election Day Polls will be located at the Cape Elizabeth High School.  Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Municipal ballot asks voters to select two Town Councilors and two School Board members.  All of the Town Council candidates are running for their first time.  Candidates include:  Stephanie P. Anderson, Matthew A. Grymek, Andrew B. Swayze, and Timothy L. Thompson.   Candidates for seats on the School Board include two incumbents - Cindy R. Voltz and Jennifer McVeigh.  Charity L. Hews is running for the School Board for her first time.  Arienne D. Hurder, who is running for a seat on the School Board a second time, was unsuccessful in her bid during the November 2022 elections.

On October 18, all but one of the candidates participated in a Candidates Night event hosted by students of the Cape Elizabeth High School AP Government class.  Anderson was absent due to illness.  A recording of the candidates' statements and their responses to questions taken from students and the public, is available for viewing HERE. 

In addition to the municipal election, Cape Elizabeth residents are being asked to vote on a  Residential Pesticide Use Ordinance brought forward by residents in February 2023.  The stated purpose of the proposed ordinance is to:

Safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Cape Elizabeth and to conserve and protect the Town's waterways and natural resources by restricting the use of toxic pesticides on private, residential property for cosmetic landscape uses and outdoor pest management.  This ordinance is intended to encourage the adoption by private residential landowners in Cape Elizabeth of safe, responsible, and ethical alternatives to toxic pesticides utilizing organic pest management.  Such alternatives include adoption of integrated pest management practices recommended by the Maine Integrated Pest Management Council, the Division of Plant and Animal Health of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, and the University of Maine Extension Service.  By way of example and not limitation, BTI (bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), diatomaceous earth, essential oils, and plant extracts are specific biological, mechanical and organic chemical treatment alternatives to the broadcasting of toxic pesticides for lawn care and ornamental landscaping on private property.  This ordinance is intended to facilitate adoption of additional treatment alternatives as the field of integrated pest management progresses.

Nothing in this Ordinance is intended to regulate pesticide use in commercial agriculture or the maintenance of utility rights of way, or upon publicly owned or maintained property (including without limitation roadways, rights of way, paths, parks, playing fields, or grounds of municipal buildings).  Nothing in this Ordinance requires the licensure of persons applying integrated pest management  or alternatives to toxic pesticides for private residential properties or limits the application of integrated pest management practices to persons or companies licensed as pesticide applicators by the Maine Board of Pesticide Control.

The following items are additional components of the proposed Ordinance which are outlined in the  Residential Pesticide Use Ordinance : Permitted and Prohibited Pesticides; Exceptions and Exclusions; Emergency Waivers; Registry of Prohibited Pesticides and Practices; Public Notifications and Signing; Violations; Enforcement; Serverability; and Conflicts With Other Ordinances.  A timeline of the process and meetings leading up to the referendum is available on the Pesticide Use Ordinance page.