Maine election 2022: Whitehouse, Trentalange win Kennebunk Select Board seats; Baldwin ousted

KENNEBUNK, Maine — Two women made local history on Tuesday night.

Miriam Whitehouse and Leslie Trentalange both won seats on the Kennebunk Select Board, giving the board its first female majority in the history of the town. In doing so, they ousted Select Board Chair Blake Baldwin.

“I am so excited and honored to represent the town of Kennebunk,” Trentalange said late Tuesday night.

Whitehouse could not be immediately reached for comment.

Whitehouse earned 1,473 votes to Trentalange’s 1,429, giving them 39% and 37% of the overall total of votes cast for candidates, according to results released by Town Clerk Merton Brown and Deputy Town Clerk Katrina Boyer on Tuesday night.

Baldwin took third in the race with 920 votes, or 24%.

Brown confirmed earlier this year the Select Board was certain to have its first female majority with the election of either Whitehouse or Trentalange. The election of both means the board now will be comprised of five women and two men — a far cry from just two years ago, when the board consisted only of men.

Incumbent Select Board member Frank Paul decided not to seek reelection, ensuring that at least one new face would be welcomed to the board during its first meeting of the new fiscal year in July.

Whitehouse is a newly retired microbiologist and a longtime volunteer in the community. Earlier this year, she served as a spokesperson for The Upstanders, a local group that successfully opposed the recent effort to recall RSU 21 School Board member Tim Stentiford.

At the start of the campaign season, Whitehouse said she was running because the town is at a “vital and exciting crossroads,” given the search to replace retiring Town Manager Michael Pardue and local efforts to update the town charter, following issues with the document exposed by the recall.

“People are aware of what’s happening in town government more than I can ever remember,” Whitehouse said at the time. “In recent years, it seems as if Town Hall has become increasingly disconnected from the people who live and pay their taxes here. I would like to see that change by encouraging a two-way dialogue and more participation in the Select Board decisions.”

Trentalagne is a Navy veteran and an actress who works in marketing at Generations Dentistry in Arundel. At the start of her campaign, she also spoke of the hiring process for Pardue’s successor and the charter work that is anticipated, saying she would be “honored to be a part of the process.”

“After watching the divisions in our community continue to grow, I wish to listen and work with others to bridge those gaps,” she said.

Baldwin, a retired banker, real estate developer and attorney, and the owner of Video Creations in Kennebunk, was first elected to the Select Board in 2016. As chair, he often led meetings with his trademark humor, sense of community, and knack for storytelling. In recent years, however, he occasionally got into heated verbal exchanges with residents during public comments at Select Board meetings.

In the race to represent Kennebunk on the RSU 21 School Board, Gayle Asmussen Spofford and Claudia Sayre both were elected to serve three-year terms. Spofford made the grade with 1,378 votes, or 39% of the total ballots cast in this contest, and Sayre earned 1,357 votes, or 38%. A third candidate, Andrew Freda, collected 822 votes, or 23%.

Spofford and Sayre will succeed School Board members Tim Stentiford and Matt Fadiman, who both chose not to seek reelection.

In other races, an uncontested Wayne Berry garnered 1,817 votes to win a term as a trustee of the Kennebunk Light and Power District. Also, Wayne Brockway collected 1,384 votes for another term as a trustee of the Kennebunk Sewer District. Jason Wise had a showing with 3 votes as a write-in candidate.

Kennebunkport

Political newcomer Jon Dykstra got the most votes in a four-way race for two full terms on the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen. Dykstra received 559 votes — or 33% of the overall tally that Town Clerk Tracey O’Roak reported after the polls closed on Tuesday evening.

Incumbent Selectmen Chair Sheila Matthews-Bull placed second, securing another term with 523 votes, or 31% of the overall total.

Robin Phillis and Larry Keller garnered 448 votes and 141 votes, respectively.

Dykstra and Matthews-Bull now will serve through June of 2025.

In uncontested races, voters elected Jameson Spang Davis to a three-year term on the RSU 21 School Board and Frederick Stafford to a three-year term as an at-large member of the Goose Rocks Beach Advisory Committee.

Wells

Incumbent Vice Chair John MacLeod III was the top vote-getter in the five-way race to fill two seats on the Wells Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, according to results released by Deputy Town Clerk Kerri Van Schaack on Tuesday night. MacLeod earned 909 votes — that’s roughly 34% of all votes that were cast for candidates on the ballot.

Scott DeFelice won the second seat that was up for grabs on the Board of Selectmen. DeFelice garnered 667 votes, or 25% of the tally.

Former selectmen chair Karl Ekstedt had hoped to return to the board for a new three-year stint but had to settle for third place with 507 votes, or 19%. Fellow candidates Jonathan Goodine and David Jutras garnered 358 votes and 192 votes, respectively, or 14% and 7%.

Incumbent Helena Ackerman handily won re-election to the Wells-Ogunquit Community School Committee, besting challenger Timothy Ratliff, 918-418, or 69% to 31%.

It was a good night for incumbents seeking to book three more years as trustees of the Wells Public Library Board of Directors. Incumbents Vice Chair Elise LaPlante, Treasurer Peter Masucci, and member Alice Schleiderer all won re-election. LaPlante got 956 votes; Schleiderer, 889; and Masucci, 731. A fourth candidate, Stephen Giannetti, collected 607 votes and did not win a seat.

Also on Tuesday’s ballot, incumbents Justin Batchelder and Alphonse Miski were uncontested in their bids to remain trustees of the Wells Sanitation District’s board and sure enough won new terms. As well, incumbent Thomas Oliver also was uncontested and claimed another term as a trustee of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Wells Water District.

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Sanford

The City of Sanford had a special election on Tuesday to elect a new city councilor to succeed John Tuttle, who died earlier this year.

Three candidates sought the seat: Michael Termath, Nathaniel Hitchcock, and Dennis Woodruff. Termath won the race, with 541 votes, or 44% of ballots that were cast for one of the candidates, according to unofficial results released by City Clerk Sue Cote on Tuesday night. Hitchcock came in second, with 441 votes, or 36%. Woodruff got 237 votes, or 19% of the tally.

Termath will serve through December and would have to run in November if he hopes to keep his newly won seat for another three years.

Arundel

It was a day of uncontested races at the polls for Arundel voters. Incumbent Select Board members Velma Jones Hayes and Jason Nedeau coasted to re-election with an almost perfect split of 317 and 316 votes, respectively.

RSU 21 School Board member Erin Nadeau earned a three-year term with 343 votes. Nadeau will succeed board member Ira Camp, who opted not to pursue another term.

Newcomer Ryan McQueen, a vocal critic of RSU 21’s face-mask policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, was elected with 292 votes to fill the seat of School Board  member Todd Shea, who vacated the seat last fall. McQueen will succeed Nadeau, who has occupied that seat since Shea’s departure.

Lastly, incumbent Theo Rohrs has won another three-year term as a member of the town’s budget board. Rohrs collected 331 votes. No one ran for another three-year seat that was available on the board. As well, no one sought one of the two single-year terms that were on the ballot.

Ogunquit

Voters had one contested race to settle on Tuesday, with eight candidates seeking four available seats on the Ogunquit Budget Review Committee.

Frederick Lynk led the pack and secured one of the seats with 273 votes, or 13% of the total, according to results released by Town Clerk Christine Murphy in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Michele Tourangeau nipped at Lynk’s heels with 272 votes, also roughly 13%, and also landed a seat on the board.

Filling out the other two available seats were Michael Collins and Peter Griswold, with 264 votes and 258 votes, also both with approximately 13% respectively.

Rounding out the back half of the field of candidates were David Fazzina, close behind Griswold with 257 votes, Everett Leach with 255 votes, incumbent Thomas Sellers with 249 votes, and Patience Prescott-Sundaresan with 204 votes.

Also on Tuesday, incumbent Selectperson Carole Aaron collected 402 votes in her uncontested bid for another term on the Ogunquit Select Board.

As well, Boriana Dolliver earned a three-year term on the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District Board of Directors. Dolliver did not face a challenger, as incumbent Aneliya Georgieva-Petrov’s opted not to seek reelection.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Whitehouse, Trentalange win Kennebunk ME Select Board seats