South Portland voters can choose from three candidates running to fill a vacant Maine House seat that’s up for grabs in the March 5 special election.

Democrat Matthew Beck, 65, unenrolled candidate Tristram Howard, 25 and unenrolled candidate Brendan Williams, 35, are all vying for the seat that opened when Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, a Democrat, passed away in October.

The winner will serve out the remainder of Galgay Reckitt’s term, which ends in December. The special election is being held on Super Tuesday alongside candidates in the presidential primary.

Voters can also go to City Hall to vote early in person or absentee through Feb. 29.

Beck is a recently retired union organizer who sees serving in the Legislature as an extension of his life’s work.

“This is a way I can help Maine people make their lives better,” he said.

Howard said his experience as a local sailor and training as an ocean engineer will help fill a gap among the current crop of House and Senate members.

“I hope to drive Maine climate policy as far as I can toward preparedness,” he said.

Williams is a restaurant worker who understands how hard it is to make ends meet on the minimum wage. As someone who is hard of hearing, the Lewiston mass shootings and deaths of four members of the Deaf community inspired him to run.

“I felt like we need a seat at the table when it comes to gun legislation,” he said.

All three candidates say they support tightening the state’s gun laws and all of them cited climate change as a high priority.

The January storms that damaged the coast served as a reminder that action must be taken, Beck said. South Portland’s coastal areas were battered as historic fishing shacks at Willard Beach washed away.

“It’s time for us to implement all the plans to make our communities more protected,” Beck said.

Howard said he would advocate for policies that move people toward mass transit, promote energy savings and encourage cities and towns to move away from surfaces that shed water to those that absorb it.

“A lot of Maine’s more urban settings were developed with heavy reliance on concrete,” he said. “Any water that lands on it is forced into the drain or sewer system.”

Williams said he’s in favor of increased preparedness for when the next big storm hits.

“Obviously we can’t stop climate change, but we need to put money aside because this will happen more frequently,” he said.

Whichever candidate wins will be stepping into a legislative session that is moving at a rapid clip toward a planned April 17 adjournment. Major fights on the state budget are ahead, along with votes on proposed gun legislation from Gov. Janet Mills and potential action on tribal sovereignty.

Beck believes that he’s well position to hit the ground running, having already done political and legislative work on behalf of unions.

“I know how things work there,” he said. “Whoever wins on March 5 is going to be right in the deep end of the pool.”

Howard, the youngest candidate in the race, sees his age as an advantage.

“That gives me a slightly different perspective than the other two candidates,” he said. “When I think about policy ideas, I’m putting together the state I want to live in.”

Williams is a former Democrat who says he believes people are tired of partisan politics.

“I am willing to work with both sides,” he said. “I think it is important at this time to put party aside and focus on getting things done for the people of Maine.”