Alna has a new second and third selectman following the March 21 town meeting. Doug Baston unseated incumbent David Reingardt to win the third selectman’s seat in a 102-62 vote. Melissa Spinney won the uncontested second selectman seat with 133 votes.
Incumbent Second Selectman Jonathan Villeneuve did not seek a third term.
The results of Alna’s 2015 municipal election were announced at the town meeting Saturday, March 21, where Reingardt and Villeneuve served their last day as selectmen.
“I thought this town meeting was a great ending,” Villeneuve said. “It was well organized and respectful. It was a good time.”
During the town meeting, a resident thanked the board of selectmen, composed of First Selectman David Abbott, Reingardt, and Villeneuve, for their service to Alna. They received a standing ovation from many of the residents in attendance.
“This has been a great learning experience,” Reingardt said. “I wish the next board the best of luck.”
Baston previously served as selectman in the 1990s alongside Abbott and has served as the chair of the planning board for a number of years. Spinney, however, is new to Alna politics.
Spinney brings a doctorate in neuroscience and a professional background in research and statistics to the board of selectmen. Her proficiency with numbers will help her in her new role as second selectman, she said.
Spinney grew up outside Philadelphia. She earned a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Connecticut and lived in Oregon while completing her post-doctoral fellowship in neurology.
Spinney moved to Maine in 2009, despite not being able to pursue a career in neurology due to lack of employment in the field, to raise her son. “This is where I wanted to live,” Spinney said.
Spinney moved to Alna with her husband, Jeff Spinney, a member of the Alna Planning Board, and took a position as director of research and statistics for a software and hardware diagnostics company in Freeport.
Spinney said she ran for the position of second selectman at the request of several Alna residents and also due to her belief in volunteerism. “I wanted to give back to the community,” Spinney said.
Not being a native of Alna may pose a challenge, Spinney said, but her first order of business is to learn as much as possible about Alna’s history and local government.
“I learn well, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch up quickly,” Spinney said.
Spinney said her hopes for her new role as second selectmen are to make good decisions that will help people and promote more volunteerism in Alna.
One hundred and sixty-four residents turned out to cast their votes in Alna’s 2015 municipal election, Town Clerk Amy Warner said. Voter turnout was higher than normal due to the contested election, she said.
In other election results, Barbara Baston won re-election to the RSU 12 Board of Directors with 145 votes. Jeffrey Verney won re-election as road commissioner with 145 votes. Aaron Miller won re-election as treasurer with 141 votes.
Alna’s elected officials were sworn in after the town meeting adjourned.
