AUBURN — Incumbent Brent Bilodeau and Faith Fontaine won at-large seats on the School Committee in a four-way race Tuesday. Bilodeau and Fontaine beat John Carney and Lawrence Pelletier. Fontaine had 2,045 votes; Bilodeau had 1,406. The other committee seats were unopposed. Winning seats were Bonnie Hayes, Ward 2; Thomas Kendall, Ward 3; Tammy Neilson, […]
campaign 2015
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lisbon school budget fails for 4th time
LISBON — Four attempts. Four failures. By a vote of 900 to 1,085 on Tuesday, voters failed to pass a school budget for the fourth time since June 9. The struggle to reach agreement on the budget has divided members of the School Committee and Town Council, many of whom expressed hope last week that Tuesday […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Jonathan LaBonte picks up easy win in mayor’s race
AUBURN — Jonathan LaBonte easily claimed his third term as mayor at the polls Tuesday, defeating challenger Peter Letourneau. LaBonte picked up 2,605 votes to Letourneau’s 1,896, earning 58 percent of the vote. LaBonte could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Letourneau said Tuesday that he hurt his chances in two ways. “I think I […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Newly elected Auburn councilors are signs of change
AUBURN — City Council newcomer Grady Burns said he thinks residents’ desire for change helped sweep him into office. “People seem to understand that Auburn’s at a crossroads,” Burns said. “We are facing a shrinking tax base and we need help creating long-term solutions to turn back that trend.” But a distinctive campaign sign didn’t […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Androscoggin County charter vote wins approval
LEWISTON — An amendment to the Androscoggin County Charter appeared headed for approval Tuesday, with all but the towns of Livermore and Livermore Falls reporting election results. The unofficial tally was 12,186 to 5,546. The amendment is aimed at resolving the issue of who has final say over county salaries, the County Commission or the […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston City Council settles in for split votes
LEWISTON — Voters put three Maine People’s Alliance candidates and three conservative candidates into the seven open City Council seats Tuesday night. Joline Landry Beam, who beat two opponents to claim the open Ward 6 seat, said she might be the swing vote. “I think I can work with anyone,” Beam said Tuesday. “I think […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine voters pass campaign finance reform, $100 million in bonds
PORTLAND — In a victory for advocates of clean elections, Maine will bolster public campaign finance laws weakened by a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court ruling because of voters’ passage of a referendum on Tuesday. State voters also decided to authorize $100 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements and housing for seniors. The Mainers for Accountable […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Jim Handy loses seat on Lewiston School Committee to Benjamin Martin
LEWISTON — Challenger Benjamin Martin unseated long-serving School Committee Chairman James Handy by a narrow margin, 597-573. In a post on Facebook later Tuesday Handy said he would request a recount. Also winning re-election was Matthew Roy in Ward 6. He defeated second-time challenger Dawn Hartill, 713-537. Richard White defeated Ward 5 incumbent Jama Aden […]
Posted inRiver Valley
Peru selectman elected road commissioner
PERU – Residents on Tuesday elected Selectman Lee Merrill as road commissioner, Town Clerk Vera Parent said. Merrill received 209 votes, defeating Maurice Brann who had 74 votes and Brad Hutchings who had 40 votes. Parent said that because Merrill cannot hold both positions simultaneously, he will resign as selectman, effective immediately. “It’s up to […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Ben Chin, Bob Macdonald headed to Lewiston mayor runoff
LEWISTON — The choice for Lewiston’s next mayor will be about challenger Ben Chin and incumbent Robert Macdonald. The two candidates left behind their three challengers at the polls Tuesday, setting the stage for a Dec. 8 runoff vote. Chin received the most votes of any candidate, 3,673 of the 8,332 cast in the mayoral […]