Incumbents dominate Auburn City Council election

AUBURN — Incumbents dominated Tuesday’s election for the City Council.

Despite contests in Wards 4 and 5 and a five-way race in the at-large category, only a single new councilor was chosen.

Newcomer Adam Lee garnered 74 percent of the tally in the open Ward 4 seat, besting Doris Russell with 421 votes to her 141.

In Ward 5, incumbent Leroy Walker held on to his seat, taking 71 percent of the tally with 475 votes to Raymond Berube’s 190 votes.

In the at-large race, Belinda Gerry and David Young held on to their seats. Young took 1,726 votes. Gerry had 1,497. The others — John Spruill, Levi Gervais and Robert Sevigny — failed to get enough votes.

Unopposed candidates Tizz Crowley, Robert Hayes and Mary LaFontaine will join Mayor Jonathan LaBonte in Auburn Hall for another term in office.

Walker said Tuesday that he was gratified by the faith Auburn voters expressed with their choices.

“It means a lot to all of us,” he said. “We are going to take the city of Auburn to another level.”

Gerry said she was “delighted” to be re-elected.

“It’s just a privilege to be able to run and to serve,” she said, particularly since she and Young were chosen from five at-large candidates.

“It did give people a choice,” she said.

Young said he, too, was very pleased with the choice.

He said he will be looking to several city issues in his fourth term. Among them are finding a way to encourage more Auburn people to recycle and examining the cost of ambulance service in the city, he said.

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