PERU — Voters will go to the polls Tuesday, April 9, to choose from among eight candidates for four selectmen’s positions: One for two months, one for 14 months, and two for 26 months.

Balloting will be from noon to 6 p.m. at the Town Office.

Five of the candidates recently responded to a questionnaire.

James L. Pulsifer and Tammy Ferland are seeking the two-month term.

Pulsifer has served in local government since 1975 as a Planning Board member, selectman and on other boards and committees.

He said he offers well-rounded experience and feels it is especially needed now. The town needs to look at some reorganization of government and may need to hire a part-time town manager, he said.

“The people must be presented with the issues and make a decision on what they want,” he said.

He and his wife, Mary, have lived at Worthley Pond since 1968. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force. His four children attended school in Peru.

Ferland did not respond to the questionnaire.

Seeking the 14-month term are Lee Merrill and Kevin Taylor.

Merrill said residents and selectmen have to work together, instead of blowing up at each other. They need to talk things out to resolve situations, he said.

Merrill said he wants to be involved in town politics instead of complaining about it.

“I will try to do my part to resolve some of the issues that are plaguing the town,” he said.

Merrill ran a contractor’s business for more than 16 years and says he knows how to live on a fixed income. He said people are needed in office who know how to say no to the town when they need to cut back. And people need to pay their taxes, he said.

He has lived on Ridge Road for 42 years. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children.

Taylor did not respond to the questionnaire.

Seeking election to the two 26-month terms are Larry R. Snowman, Danny Wing, Wayne Moore and John Witherell.

Snowman said his priority as a selectman would be fair representation of residents. “I would serve with an open mind, attempting to be a voice for everyone. I would try to keep the people informed on town business,” he said.

He said he’s concerned about about what may happen if the NewPage paper mill in nearby Rumford closes.

Snowman worked at Diamond Match for 22 years. He spent 26 years in the Maine National Guard and retired as sergeant first class. He also served two years in the U.S. Army, including 14 months in Vietnam.

He has lived on Dickvale Road for 28 years. He and his wife, Pearl, have four children.

Wing is a former selectmen, school board and Finance Committee member.

“I feel that I should be elected because I have been told, I have a level head,” he said. He said he sees a big problem with the school budget and town roads, and with collecting back taxes.

Wing served as a radar man in the U.S. Navy. A resident of the town for 39 years, he lives in East Peru with his wife, Mary Lou, and granddaughter, Michela.

Moore said he thinks the town needs a new perspective on how it’s run and more public input. He served on the wind power committee and the town seal committee. He served 14 years in the U.S. Air Force.

He is retired and lives on Route 108 in West Peru with his wife, Tammy. He has three grown children and has lived in Peru for seven years.

Witherell did not respond to the questionnaire.

The special election was scheduled after Edward Ferland, Dickie Powell, Tim Holland and Kathy Hussey were removed from office March 4 by a recall vote of the town. The recall occurred after Hussey refused to leave her board position or town secretarial position, after voters passed an ordinance in November 2012. That ordinance said town employees could not simultaneously hold positions on the Board of Selectmen or Finance Committee.

The Maine Municipal Association advised selectmen last year that Hussey could finish her current term, because there was no effective date listed in the ordinance.

Selectman Laurieann Milligan was the only selectman who was not recalled.