TURNER — Three men will vie for two seats on the Turner Board of Selectmen when voters gather April 1 for the annual town election.

Ralph Caldwell will challenge incumbent Selectman Richard Keene for a three-year term on the board. And Kurt Youland will ask voters to approve him as a replacement for Jeffrey Timberlake, who plans to leave in April with a year remaining on his three-year seat.

Timberlake announced his resignation in January, following his election to the Maine Legislature. The Turner Republican asked Youland to consider taking his place.

Youland, 51, had the time, he said.

“I retired at a fairly young age,” said Youland, who sold his company, K & K Excavation, in 2006. He remains busy with small business ventures, but he has slowed down, he said.

Youland, who is unopposed, said his decision to run for the office was as simple as his affection for Turner.

“I care about the town,” he said.

Keene, who has served for three years on the board, said his work remains unfinished.

“I feel like I’ve done a good job,” he said. Keene said he takes the time to examine each measure before the board, rather than making off-the-cuff judgments. “I look into things.”

Even before his election, he was a fixture at the Town Office. For a year and a half, he never missed a regularly scheduled meeting, he said. During his time as a selectmen, he has yet to miss a meeting.

“I’m retired,” Keene said. “Now I have the time to put into it.”

Keene spent two decades as an Auburn police officer and more years working for the city’s Public Works Department. When he retired, he moved back to Turner, where he grew up.

“I’ve always been working for a city or town,” he said. “I’m there for the people.”

Ralph Caldwell, who serves on the Budget Committee and has led on the issue of the reuse of the Leavitt Institute Building, was unavailable Thursday for comment.

The municipal election, which is technically part of Turner’s two-day annual town meeting, will feature a ballot with three other people. All are running unopposed for their respective offices.

Elizabeth Bullard is running for a three-year term on the SAD 52 Board of Directors.

Steven Maheu and Sandra Philipon are running for three-year terms on the town’s Budget Committee.

The election will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the Town Office. Absentee ballots will be available beginning March 1.

The open town meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. April 2 at the Leavitt Area High School cafeteria.

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