Amy Hansen unseats Regina Barnes in Hampton election. Voters approve $7M road fix.
HAMPTON — Amy Hansen, who promised if elected to "end the divisiveness on the Hampton Board of Selectmen," defeated incumbent Regina Barnes in Tuesday's election.
Hansen received more than double the votes as Barnes, winning 2,534 to 1,221 in what Town Moderator Bob Casassa called a close to record turnout for a town election with nearly 4,000 ballots cast.
Hansen said she entered the race to steer the town away from recent controversies regarding Barnes, who has shared social media political posts some residents have deemed racist and offensive.
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Prior to the election results being announced, Hansen said the race came down to what kind of leader Hampton wants to have.
"Somebody who brings people together and solves problems or someone who is maybe more divisive and that's the choice," she said. "It will be interesting to see what the results are today."
Hansen, a mother of three who works at Hampton Academy as a secretary, said her priorities include public safety, good schools and pushing for long-overdue infrastructure projects like repairing roads and sidewalks.
Barnes, who was seeking a third term, said before the results that win or lose she was still going to stay involved.
"If I win (today) I'm going to continue what I'm doing, and if I don't win I'm probably going to continue what I'm doing. I don't necessarily have to sit at the (Board of Selectmen) table to represent people."
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In other contested races, Keith Lessard and Sharon Mullen were elected to the Planning Board while Matthew Saunders and Michael Plouffe were elected to the Budget Committee.
Political newcomer Nichole Duggan defeated incumbent Bryan Provencal for his seat on the Zoning Board.
Hampton voters approve big-ticket items on ballot
On the Town Meeting ballot, voters approved the town's proposed $30,206,241 budget, the $7 million reconstruction of the pothole-ridden High Street and the $15.7 million improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.
They also approved new contracts for the police, the hiring of two new police officers, two new DPW workers, and four additional firefighters.
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A request to purchase 22 acres of undeveloped land on North Shore Road, known as the Barkley property, to ensure it remains protected forever also gained approval.
Voters shot down two citizens' petitions to ban vote-counting machines for town elections by large numbers. Proponents have said the goal was to restore "integrity in future elections," while opponents said it was nothing but a ruse to undermine voter confidence in the election system by solving a problem that doesn't exist.
Voters also supported a zoning amendment to facilitate the future development of the state's liquor store properties on Interstate 95.
The amendment calls for the creation of an "Interstate Corridor Overlay District" to expand the allowable uses for the property as part of a public-private partnership to construct two new state-of-the-art liquor stores for $20 million on both the southbound and northbound sides of I-95.
Uses that will be allowed include retail, restaurants, gas stations, emergency response roadside vehicle repair, electric vehicle charging stations, higher education recruitment center, visitor/welcome center and outdoor recreational areas.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Regina Barnes loses Hampton NH election 2022 to Amy Hansen
