LEWISTON — Voters returned five of eight incumbents to the School Committee during elections Tuesday.

In Ward 2, Paul St. Pierre easily defeated challenger Stavros Mendros, 907-455 votes.

“Voters today told me, as they were leaving, they appreciated my experience,” St. Pierre said. “They like all the years that I’ve put into it and the experience that I have.”

Incumbents in Ward 1, 3, 4 and 7 didn’t have challengers and easily walked into office. Linda Scott collected 596 votes in Ward 1, Trinh Burpee garnered 380 votes in Ward 3, Jim Handy had 873 votes for Ward 4 and Tom Shannon picked up 788 votes in Ward 7.

In the race for the at-large seat, Cindy Mendros defeated ZamZam Mohamud, 3,336 votes to 3,153.

For Mendros, wife of Ward 2 School Committee candidate Stavros Mendros, it was her first time running for office.

“I actually think my husband spent more time on my campaign than he did on his own,” she said.

Mendros said she thinks it’s her familiarity with technology that swung voters to her. She has degrees in information technology and said she recognizes the limits that computers have.

“Every student should have the opportunity to experience technology, but they need to learn the basics, too,” she said. “I think they tend to focus on technology too much these days.”

Voter Dan Perreault of Horton Street said name recognition convinced him.

“I really wasn’t too sure so I went with Cindy,” Perreault said. “She seemed a good enough choice.”

In Ward 6, Matthew Roy defeated opponent Dawn Hartill, 582-507. This is the first election for both candidates, and Roy said he was as surprised by the result as anyone.

“It is Lewiston, and I have a Franco last name,” he said. “But Mrs. Hartill has kids in the system, and I don’t. But I do have a niece, and she should be ready for school when this term is up. But on paper, she has an advantage — people are more likely to vote for people that have kids in the system.”

In Ward 5, write-in candidate Jama Mohamed failed to collect the votes he needed for a School Committee seat. Mohamed had 49 votes, one short of the 50 he needed, according to the City Charter.

That seat has been held by Sonia Taylor, who is not seeking re-election. According to the charter, Mayor Robert Macdonald will nominate a candidate to fill the seat, and city councilors will vote to ratify his choice.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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