AUBURN – Mayor John Jenkins won re-election Tuesday, becoming the first person in Auburn history to win a city-wide election as a write-in candidate.

“You made history,” Jenkins told supporters when the results arrived around 9:45 p.m. “This has never happened. You did it.”

He won an overwhelming victory, taking the lead in each of the city’s five wards. The final vote was Jenkins: 2,166, Eric Samson: 1,305 and Fred Sanborn: 514.

Folks had questioned how viable a write-in candidate could be. After all, to vote for Jenkins people had to write in his full name and fill in the adjacent circle.

No candidate for mayor or city council had ever won a seat before, City Clerk Mary Lou Magno said.

Jenkins hesitated when he first learned of his victory Tuesday. Overwhelmed, he buried his face in his hands.

“This is unbelievable,” he said.

The small group that ran his campaign, nine people including City Councilor-elect Dan Herrick, began exchanging hugs and high-fives.

A moment later, Jenkins gathered himself up and the supporters called for a speech.

His opponents – whose names were on the ballot – conceded.

“I’ll have other opportunities,” said Samson, a two-term city councilor. “I’ll miss it.”

At 36, he figured he may again run for city council, mayor or other office. He praised city staff and his fellow councilors, with whom he served for four years.

Meanwhile, Sanborn had staked out Auburn Hall as the returns were called in from the city’s wards.

When the last numbers arrived, he questioned the legality of the vote, particularly Magno’s decision to count write-in votes for Jenkins that did not include his address, 34 Ryans Way.

But Jenkins, 55, was characteristically optimistic as he celebrated with his supporters, who met at Gipper’s Sports Grill in Auburn.

“This is a victory for the citizens,” he said. “I happen to be the person who was brought along by the everyday people.”

After all, he did little campaigning until the final days of the election.

“I didn’t paint a sign,” he said. “They did all the work.”

Jenkins had already completed two terms as Lewiston’s mayor and a term as a state senator when he took office in December for a shortened one-year term as Auburn mayor.

He promised a more open, inclusive government. He held city council meetings in each ward as a way to reach out to neighborhoods. And he brought back spring trash pickup, something that was prized by many residents.

Jenkins still seemed like the newly minted mayor of Auburn when, nine months into his term, he announced that he would be unable to run for another.

The role of mayor took too much time away from his day jobs, he said, often logging more than 35 hours a week.

“Gone are the days when you just showed up and cut ribbons and shook hands and kissed babies and facilitated the council meeting,” Jenkins said last month. “The mayor is now expected to have some understanding of transportation issues, finance, you name it. The citizens expect full-time results from this part-time position.”

Citizens asked him to reconsider. As they became more dedicated, Jenkins relented. As long as they were alright with him spending less time at city hall, he was willing to serve again, he said.

By September, he was back in the race.

“My first term was about economic development,” he said Tuesday night. “My next term will be about human development.”

He plans to help people earn livable wages.

“We need to make sure Auburn is affordable,” he said. Some of those same people who are the working poor are the ones who helped re-elect him.

“I’ll never forget who I work for,” he said.

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