Group that advocates for Maine cities, towns has new leader

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - An organization that represents Maine’s hundreds of cities and towns has new leadership.

The Maine Municipal Association says Gardiner City Manager Christine Landes will be the new president of its executive committee. The vice president will be James Gardner Jr., who’s the town manager in Easton.

Landes is set to take over leadership of the association’s 12-member steering committee on Jan. 1. She was first appointed to the Maine Municipal Association’s Executive Committee in 2016, and has been city manager in Garden for about 15 months.

The Maine Municipal Association is a non-partisan group that advocates for the interest of 484 municipalities in the state.