AUBURN – Randall Greenwood of Wales edged out longtime politician Elmer Berry in his bid for a third term on the Androscoggin County Commission.

“It’s fantastic,” Greenwood said Wednesday afternoon, still a little groggy from a late election night. He went to bed at 3 a.m. Wednesday, still unsure of the outcome. He woke only two and a half hours later when a friend called.

“I want to thank all the voters of District 1,” Greenwood said. The district includes nine towns: Durham, Greene, Leeds, Lisbon, Livermore, Livermore Falls, Sabattus, Turner and Wales.

The final tally gave 9,448 votes to Greenwood and 9,193 to Berry.

“It’s like a load off my shoulders,” Berry said Wednesday, talking softly and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I have no animosity.”

For 10 years, his wife and daughters have been asking him to retire, he said.

Berry began in politics in either the late 1950s or early 1960s, he said. He served in the Maine Senate and on a variety of state and local boards. He served on the county commission for the past eight years.

Sometimes, he was controversial.

“I stuck up for the taxpayers, not the administrators,” he said.

He chalked up his loss to voters’ desire for change, something he sympathized with.

When his term ends on Jan. 1, he plans to spend some time either in his recreational vehicle or at a seasonal property he owns in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Meanwhile, he offered the incoming commissioners his help.

Besides Greenwood, Jonathan LaBonte of Auburn won the District 2 seat, representing Auburn, Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland. He replaces another longtime commissioner, Constance Cote, who chose not to run for re-election.

“I think that sets the stage for a smooth transition,” Greenwood said of Berry’s offer.

Greenwood had picked up a copy of the budget proposal and planned to attend commission meetings beginning next week, he said.