AUBURN — Voters elected a new City Council on Tuesday, with three incumbents returning.
In Ward 1, Richard Whiting won a tight race against Eric Gould, 542-523, with 12 write-ins and 98 blank votes.
Whiting, the former longtime director of the Auburn Housing Authority, will replace outgoing Councilor Holly Lasagna.
In Ward 2, newcomer Ryan Hawes defeated incumbent Timothy MacLeod, 665-581. There were also 158 blank votes.
Ward 3 incumbent Stephen Milks, and newcomer Joseph Morin in Ward 4, were also elected. It will be Milks’ second term. Morin is an associate member of the Planning Board.
In Ward 5, incumbent Leroy Walker saw a challenge from two ultimately unsuccessful write-in campaigns. Joseph DeMotta and Kathy Shaw announced write-in campaigns after Walker was embroiled in controversy over statements he made over the renaming of a bridge in honor of former Mayor John Jenkins.
Walker won handily, receiving 820 votes. There were a total of 209 write-in votes. It will be his sixth term in the Ward 5 seat.
For the two at-large seats, incumbent Councilor Belinda Gerry and newcomer Dana Staples were victorious. Gerry received 2,917 votes, while Staples received 3,240.
James Lashua received 2,134 votes.
Auburn released the results of the election at 11:35 p.m.
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