North Stonington — With no challenger, Bob Carlson is slated to be the next first selectman of North Stonington, while three candidates are vying for two spots on the Board of Selectmen.

The current board comprises independent First Selectman Michael Urgo, Republican Selectman Carlson and Democratic Selectman Nita Kincaid. Carlson is running for first selectman, while Urgo and Kincaid aren't seeking reelection.

Running for selectman in the Nov. 2 election are Democratic candidates K. Nicole Porter and Toula Balestracci, and Republican candidate Brett Mastroianni.

The three candidates all pointed to dealing with the old middle/high school building and keeping taxes down as their top priorities. The building, which is deed-restricted and must be used for educational purposes, is empty except for the part used for the Board of Education and central office staff, but is costing the town money to maintain.

Porter sits on the Economic Development Commission, and she thinks her father — former Stonington selectman Jim Sisk — passed on to her a love of public service. She said that now that her daughters are grown, she was looking for something new.

Porter, 54, said her priorities are keeping the tax burden down and finding affordable housing, to both allow older residents to stay in their homes and keep young people here.

"Getting the right kind of economic development in our town is something that's going to be critical to help lower the tax burden on the people, but at the same time, not necessarily — or not — bringing in big-box stores," she said.

Working as a nurse manager for procedural and perioperative departments at Backus Hospital, Porter said she has the skills of empathetic listening and communicating that would serve her well as selectman. She added that she prides herself on being able to stay calm, and has managed multimillion dollar budgets in her departments.

Balestracci is chair of the Democratic Town Committee and the School Building Repurposing Committee, and sits on the Sustainability Committee. She previously served on the Economic Development Commission.

"We have a great opportunity right now to have two women selectmen on the ticket, and that's never happened before, so I'm really excited about putting more women in office," she said.

Balestracci said one of priorities is expanding water and sewer infrastructure on Routes 2 and 49 to help bring businesses into town, saying, "That's going to help our tax base, and that's another issue I want to work on, is people are struggling already, so we can't keep raising taxes."

She also hopes the town can find the means to possibly have an extra police officer during peak times or events, saying more of a police presence could make residents feel safer.

Balestracci, 43, is a real estate agent and owns a bookkeeping business.

Mastroianni serves as chairman of the Republican Town Committee and the Economic Development Commission, on which he has served since 2011, and is an alternate on the Board of Finance. He unsuccessfully ran for first selectman in 2019, losing to Urgo by a vote of 907 to 877.

"I really am running because of my dedication to the town. We're a small community here; it really feels like family, and you just want to be able to give back," said Mastroianni, 46. He later added, "It's really not about party politics on the local, municipal level. You try to do what's best for the town, and not let the national stuff weigh in."

Mastroianni, who owns the pawn shop East Coast Jewelry & Loan, said "to keep taxes down, we really need to look at our spending." He would like to see central purchasing for some things and to look at job sharing between the town and the schools, to save money.

Carlson said he would've liked to run against someone for first selectman, because it would've given town residents a chance to hear from multiple people, and he would've learned from his opponent.

Carlson, 67, previously served on the Ad Hoc School Building Committee and the Board of Education, including as chairman, and first was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 2017. He retired this past April from his career in the lumber and building industry.

Carlson described himself as a "roll-up-your-sleeves kind of guy who doesn't always enjoy the limelight" and said he will treat the role of first selectman as if he's the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, rather than as CEO of the town.

He said if he could accomplish one thing over the next two years, it would be to restore trust in local government, and his number one concern is how to handle the middle/high school building.

"My agenda is what the town's majority thinks the agenda should be," Carlson said. "I'm not going to try to force my own personal agenda on anything."

e.moser@theday.com