Ryan D. Pelletier, 29, is the town manager of St. Agatha. He is currently serving as president of the Maine Municipal Association and is a member of the steering committee of REALIZE!Maine.
First question: Why is it pronounced “A-gaht” and not “Agatha”?
It’s the French pronunciation. It’s a heavily French area of the state, so everyone pronounces it “A-gaht.”
Where are you from and where did you go to school?
I grew up in St. Francis, which is about 45 minutes from St. Agatha. I went to school at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK), and graduated in 1999 with an associate’s degree in business administration. I continued part-time with school at UMFK and completed my bachelor’s degree in political science in 2001.
While in school (full-time) I had an interest in politics, and got this idea of running for selectman in my hometown. Thankfully, I lost that election. My political science professor at the time suggested in would be better to be a town manager than a selectman. I applied for and got the town manager job in Wallagrass while in school, and held the job for about a year. Then the position opened at St. Agatha. I applied and have been here ever since. I’m in my seventh year here.
Did you ever consider leaving Maine?
No. I never really considered leaving Maine. I love this state and everything it has to offer.
In my profession, what I like about Maine is the size of the state, the smallness of it; I have gotten to know almost every town manager and have formed some relationships and friendships with them. The networking and the ability to discuss ideas and share problems and solutions that face municipal government are second to none.
Another reason that I’ve chosen to stay is that both my wife and I have siblings that have all continued to live and work in Aroostook County. A lot of times, the norm is for young people to go away to college or for a job. It’s kind of unique that we’ve all been able to stay in the area and live and work. My sister is a teacher, my brother is a building contractor, and my other sister’s husband is a logging contractor. On my wife’s side, her brother works for the family paving business, her sister is still in college at UMFK, and her other sister is an X-ray technician at Northern Maine Medical Center.
I’ve often thought about moving downstate to southern Maine or something like that. The killer for us up here is the drive to southern Maine—we’re four and half hours to Augusta and five and a half to Portland.
What are the challenges you’ve faced in your job? Has age been an issue?
It’s hard being the town manager and every single employee is older than you. But the staff has been absolutely great to work with. I’ve always approached it that providing municipal services is a team effort and I couldn’t do it alone. It’s my job to manage and oversee that everything that needs to get done gets done.
I’d also say that being young has been a strength. I’ve always been open to trying new things and listening to different ideas before making decisions.
(Lastly), as a town manager, you are highly visible in your community. You are going to make decisions that not everyone will be happy with. But I’ve always kept in the back of my mind that the decisions that I make are for the community as a whole and not for any one individual. If you start playing favorites in small town government, you won’t be employed in small town government very long.
You are currently serving as the president of the Maine Municipal Association (MMA). What are your responsibilities in this position?
The executive committee is charged with governing the association. As president, I chair that board. I work closely with the executive director of MMA as he implements board policy.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment to date?
Professionally, I’ve always been pleased that I was on the executive committee of MMA when the decision was made to conduct the citizen’s initiative that eventually led to the increased funding for the cost of schools in Maine. That ultimately became LD1, which was enacted by the legislature last year. I’m a strong believer that had we not collected 100,000 signatures and forced that issue on to the ballot, we would not have meaningful tax reform like we have begun to see with the implementation of LD1.
What do you hope to achieve next?
After my stint as the president of MMA is over (on December 31, 2006), I do plan on taking some time off from being involved at the state level. But looking forward, I would like to get involved with the Maine Town and City Management Association and perhaps run for a position on that board. And, there’s still a very strong interest that I’ve always had in running for the legislature, but time will tell.
What does it take as a young person to live, work and thrive in Maine?
You have to appreciate the things that we have—our quality of life is second to none; our small town feel as a state; and the work ethic of the people of the this state, pulling together and moving Maine forward step by step. You have to be willing to be a team player to live, work and thrive in this state.
