The York County Commission needs to be more accessible to the public. 

Instead of having county commission meetings at 4:30PM in the afternoon, we need to have them in the evening, like 6:30PM or later. Similar to how city council and town selectboards meet to maximize attendance. Other counties like Cumberland County hold them in the evening, why not us?

Instead of having commission workshops held at 3PM, around something as important as how to spend the $40 million in federal relief, how about hold them at 5:30PM or later to increase awareness. 

Instead of having public hearings in the middle of the day, in Sanford, require commissioners to hold a public hearing in the evening, in each commission district for important topic areas. That way each corner of our county can be adequately represented and your voice heard. 

All meetings should also be streamed live on social media to increase participation. 

Just because we’ve always done something a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s actually effective or in the best interest of the public. Our county commission meets just a handful times each month, they are not the legislature. They can set their meeting times whenever they like. By refusing to change their meeting times, they are purposefully limiting public engagement.

Make your voice heard, sign my petition to demand a change from our elected county officials. 

If elected your next county commissioner, this is one of the items on the to-do list. See my full action plan for increasing accountability, transparency, and accessibility here: Accountable To You. – Justin Chenette, Candidate for County Commissioner