Kittery election 2023: What voters need to know before heading to the polls

Ian Lenahan, Portsmouth Herald

October 31, 2023 at 5:10 AM·4 min read

KITTERY, Maine — The races for the Town Council and the Kittery School Committee in next week’s election both feature four candidates running for two seats, a mixture of incumbents, former seat holders and newcomers vying for votes.

Incumbent Town Council member Cameron Hamm is seeking re-election. Former Town Council members Charles Denault, a retired town police sergeant, and Kenneth Lemont, a commercial fisherman and former state legislator, both resigned in March 2021 but are seeking a return to the body this fall. The fourth candidate in the race is realtor H. Scott Mason, a member of the Kittery Port Authority and the town’s Economic Development Committee.

More: Denault and Lemont seek to reclaim seats they resigned from in Kittery Town Council race

The two seats each come with three-year terms beginning in mid-November.

Denault and Lemont resigned days apart from each other over two years ago. The former received a complaint about the town’s public works department and self-led an investigation into its employees. After surveilling employees, he then presented his findings to Town Manager Kendra Amaral, which was found to be a violation of town charter, and the town hired an investigator to review the claims. The investigator found that nearly all of the accusations were found to be false, lacking evidence, “unsubstantiated,” or held “no basis to investigate further," the town previously reported.

Lemont cited health matters in his resignation and was later found to have played a minimal role in Denault’s investigation into town personnel.

More: Kittery Town Council hopefuls debate issues and record of candidate who resigned in 2021

The state referendum ballot going before town voters next week will feature eight citizen initiative questions.

Election Day in Maine’s oldest town falls on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the town and state referendum election.

Where and when to vote in Kittery

Polls will be open at the Kittery Community Center at 120 Rogers Road from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Town holding a voter registration night this week

A voter registration night is being held at Town Hall this Thursday, Nov. 2 from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. The event will help town residents with registering for the election, name and address corrections and absentee voting information.

Anyone attending the event is asked to come with identification and proof of residency.

Kittery Town Hall is located at 200 Rogers Road.

More information about registering for the town election can be found here.

How Kittery voters can get an absentee ballot

Kittery voters can still request an absentee ballot for the fall election, with the deadline to do so this Thursday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m.

Absentee ballots can be requested in-person at the Customer Service Center in Town Hall. Hours on Tuesday and Wednesday are 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., and from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Absentee ballots can also be requested online. Upon completion, the form can be emailed to Town Clerk Jillian Richards at jrichards@kitteryme.org. The form can also be mailed to Richards' office at Town Hall.

“Completed absentee ballots may be returned using the secure drop box outside of Town Hall, located at 200 Rogers Road, until 4:00 PM on Monday, November 6, 2023,” per the town. “After the close of business on Monday, all absentee ballots must be returned directly to the polls on Election Day.”

Town Council candidates in the Kittery 2023 election

Seacoast Media Group sent questionnaires to the four Kittery Town Council candidates ahead of the fall election. Here were their responses to questions about the future of the town’s business park zoning district, housing, the town budget, traffic and parking issues, and more. Voters can choose two of the four candidates.

Charles Denault

Town Council candidate answers questions on the issues

Cameron Hamm

Town Council candidate answers questions on the issues

Kenneth Lemont

Town Council candidate answers questions on the issues

H. Scott Mason

Town Council candidate answers questions on the issues

Kittery 2023 School Committee candidates

Incumbents Eric Lemont and Karen Matso are on the Kittery School Committee ballot, in addition to Amesbury Housing resident service coordinator Olivia White. Former Kittery School Committee member Rhonda Pomerleau is a declared write-in candidate in the race.

Seacoast Media Group sent questionnaires to the four Kittery School Committee candidates ahead of the fall election. Here were their responses to questions about their top priorities, book removal requests, school safety, student mental health and wellness, and staff recruitment and retention.