RANDOLPH -- Three town residents are running for a three-year seat on the Board of Selectmen, the only contest on this year's municipal ballot, Town Clerk Lynn Mealey said.

The candidates include former long-time Selectwoman R. Gloria Mansir Fitzherbert, Maine AFL-CIO President Edward F. Gorham and retired electrical equipment salesman Alfred A. Seymour Jr., she said.

There are also three open four-year positions on the budget committee. Only Francis W. Hanley, a current committee member, is running for re-election, Mealey said.

The town clerk said no one is running for a SAD 11 School Board position that will continue until 2010.

The election is Tuesday with voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town office at 121 Kinderhook St., she said.

Seymour, 73, said he has had a long interest in municipal affairs but his family and work obligations have prevented his participation.

"I'm semi-retired, so I have more time to get involved in town government," he said. "I'm pretty interested in what goes on in town and want to get involved in decisions made."

If elected, he said, he expects to face a steep learning curve. Other town officials "had to start with no experience and I have to start somewhere."

"I would like to learn where the money is being spent," Seymour said. "I know some roads need more attention and the sewers, in some areas."

Fitzherbert said she is a lifelong Randolph resident with more than two decades experience on the Board of Selectmen.

"Now is the time for experience," she said. "I saw many improvements while I was on the board and have the best interests of the town at heart and will continue to do so."

Fitzherbert said she has taken a short break from her time on the board since 2006, but said she has missed the service.

"I want to keep a closer watch of the budget," she said. "I'd like to see us have access to the river again on the Randolph side. We have the place for it and I'd like to see it used."

Town officials also need to address problems in the older sections of the municipal sewer system not included in recent reconstruction, Fitzherbert said.

Gorham, 63, said he has not run for elective office before. As president of the Maine AFL-CIO, however, he is active in politics on a statewide level.

"The seat was opening up and it seemed like an opportunity to get on the board to promote harmony and cooperation," he said.

If elected, he said, he would focus some of his efforts on public works, which he said are in need of attention.

"Sewer and roads continue to be an issue," said Gorham, chairman of the comprehensive plan committee in 1994-96. "We mentioned the sewers in the comprehensive plan 10 years ago but there's still work that needs to be done."

The future of the town's only school, which serves elementary students, will also become an increasingly important issue in coming years, he said.

"Do we keep the school we have or build a new one or build on in connection with another community?" Gorham said. "That school is central to the life of the town. The building is getting old and we can keep it or not keep it, but that is an issue we will have to face in the next few years."

Gary Remal -- 621-5642

gremal@centralmaine.com