PORTSMOUTH — Mary Correia, who ran unsuccessfully for Town Council as an unendorsed Democrat, has announced that she will continue her candidacy as a write-in candidate.

“Write-in campaigns are difficult,” she said in a statement, “but I think the goal of bringing a higher level of representative government to our town is worth it.”

Meanwhile, Eugene Love, an independent candidate for Town Council, announced he is dropping out of the race.

With Correia reentering the field, the roster of candidates for Town Council includes sevenendorsed Democrats, five Republicans, and three independents. One of the independents is incumbent council member Karen Gleason, Correia’s sister.

Correia says she wants to protect the rural character of the town.

Development, particularly any plans adopted for reusing land sold off by the Navy on the west side of town, must be considered very carefully, she said.

“If we grow too fast, we stretch our [municipal] services, that are already stretched too far as we are,” Correia said this week.

At the same time, she said, the town needs to “encourage small business expansion,” protecting small business owners from “big outside interests.”

Correia does not favor installing sewers on the north and west sides, a move she says would accelerate development.

Instead, she favors a Waste Water Management District, which would monitor the efficacy of individually owned septic systems.

While the homeowners would bear the full cost of upgrading their systems, the Waste Water Management District could offer low-interest loans to cover the cost.

The state Department of Environmental Management has said that sewers at the north end of town are the only approach guaranteed to correct pollution in surrounding waters over the long term.

Correia, however, disagrees. And she says any decision to install sewers should be made by the voters in a referendum.

If elected, Correia said, she would ensure that those who come before the Town Council feel comfortable speaking their mind.

“Some people have been heard and others have not been,” she said, declining to be more specific about the way the Democratic majority has conducted council meetings.

While Correia does not have the backing of the Democratic Town Committee, she is the only Democratic candidate for Town Council to be endorsed by Portsmouth Concerned Citizens, the taxpayer group that has been a perennial critic of the council’s Democratic majority in the last several years.

Correia said in a statement that she has been criticized for not responding to a questionnaire submitted to candidates for elective office by John McDaid, who runs a blog on issues of community interest.

Correia said McDaid also serves as the webmaster of the Democratic Town Committee Web site, and she did not believe he could fulfill both roles impartially.

McDaid said he posted all the responses in their entirety on his blog. He said he does not see any conflict between his role as a blogger and as a webmaster for the Democratic Town Committee.

gmacris@projo.com