Judith Colby, with 723 votes, Ed Polewarczyk (527) and David Nichols (485) will fill three vacant slots on the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen. Mark Johnson (377) and Michael Maney (293) finished out of contention.
“I didn’t expect the turnout… I was delighted,” said Polewarczyk. “I’ll do my best to try to represent the people of Wiscasset.” Nichols and Colby could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Greg Griffin will continue as Road Commissioner, handily defeating challenger David Sutter, 688-309. Griffin called the outcome “good news.”
“I’m glad to see that we’ll be doing it again this year,” Griffin said.
In unopposed races, voters elected Constance Schumann (777) and Eugene Stover (848) to serve on the budget committee and the RSU #12 Board of Directors, respectively. Robert MacDonald (791) and Dean Shea (730) will return as water district trustees.
Five other budget committee seats were open. According to Wiscasset Town Clerk Chris Wolfe, leading write-in candidates have not yet been notified.
For three-year terms, three seats are open. The winners are outgoing selectman Phil DiVece (25), outgoing budget committee chairman Steve Mehrl (17) and Prior Morrell (7).
For two-year terms, two positions are open. Schumann will fill one. Morrell received the most votes for the other with six. For a single one-year term, DiVece garnered seven votes.
By a vote of 639-343, Wiscasset rejected a controversial budget of $331,510 for the police department. The budget, opposed 5-1 by the budget committee, would have provided for a full-time police chief but would not have allowed the police department to maintain 24/7 coverage.
Voters approved, 605-491, expenditures of $13, 810 for community organizations. The budget committee voted against recommendation of the article, 5-1.
Following the unanimous recommendation of the budget committee, the town voted down $43,995 for waterfront and harbors.
Elsewhere, the town voted down a budget of $133,828 for municipal planning and code enforcement, 628-468.
In two close votes, they voted against a $20,000 portable generator for municipal facilities (555-536) and a contribution of $60,365 to the airport (566-532).
