The former Biddeford city councilor said she is excited about the prospect of returning to public service
By RANDY SEAVER, Editor
Doris Ortiz had to give up her at-large seat on the Biddeford City Council last year when she and her partner decided to buy a home in the adjacent town of Arundel.
During an interview with the Gazette this week, Ortiz said she missed being able to help her neighbors as a local government representative.
Today, Ortiz is hoping that she can once again have a meaningful impact on her community and another chance to help her neighbors.
Ortiz, 58, has formally announced that she is seeking the District Two seat on the York County Commissioners board. That seat is currently held by Richard Dutremble of Biddeford, who is now serving as the commission’s chair.
In January, Dutremble announced that he would not seek reelection after 20 years of service on the commission.
RELATED: Dutremble will lead and then step down
District Two includes the communities of Arundel, Biddeford, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.
Ortiz says there are a lot of similarities between serving as a city councilor and as a county commissioner. Both organizations address many of the same issues, from regional housing needs to infrastructure updates and improvements.
“I found serving on the city council to be very fulfilling,” Ortiz said. “It was a tremendous experience, and I learned a lot during my almost six years of being a city councilor.”
One of the things Ortiz learned was that county government has a big impact on the city of Biddeford.
“Whether you’re talking about the city’s share of the county’s budget or about shared resources, including emergency services and other things, what happens at the county level makes a big impact on the city of Biddeford and other communities.”
Because Biddeford is the largest municipality in York County, Ortiz says the city shoulders a lot of the burden for people who live just beyond the city’s borders.
“Biddeford is a service center community in York County,” Ortiz said. “As a result, the city gets a lot of traffic and growing demands for a variety of services.”
Those services include a regional hospital and state services, including the county’s combined district courthouse, the Department of Health and Human Services and a plethora of popular retail outlets.
The county, meanwhile, offers municipalities several services and facilities, including operations of the jail, a full-time sheriff’s department and support services for both emergency housing options and a regional food pantry.
Ortiz said she was intrigued by some of the things she has seen the county take on over the past few years.
“The new First Responders Training Center got me really excited,” Ortiz said. “It’s an excellent opportunity for collaboration between the city and the county, and will help municipalities as they struggle to find, hire and train emergency first responders.”
RELATED: York County government, college celebrate training partnership
But Ortiz says the biggest reason she’s running again is because it could be another opportunity to give back to her community.
“It’s really a central part of who I am and what drives me,” Ortiz said. “I know it may sound weird, but I actually enjoy digging into public policy and finding innovative ways to help people around me.”
Ortiz is employed by Bernstein Shur, a Portland-based law firm, where she has worked as a client service specialist for nearly 13 years.
Ortiz was first elected to the Biddeford City Council in 2019 and was then twice reelected for successive terms as one of the city’s two at-large representatives.
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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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