Voters turn out in force to elect officials

HOULTON, Maine — Voters turned out in force Tuesday to select a new governor, state representatives and local council and school board members.
According to town officials, about 1,800 people, out of roughly 4,200 registered voters, cast ballots in the Tuesday election. The ballots represented nearly 43 percent of the voting population.
    For the Houlton Town Council, an incumbent and a newcomer were elected as John Fitzpatrick retained his council seat with 1,451 votes. John White was also elected with 1,201 votes. Philip Bernaiche was third in the vote tallies with 550 votes, followed by Matthew Carr with 491.
For the SAD 29 school board, an even tighter race unfolded as four candidates were vying for two open seats. Fred Grant and Daryl “Scott” White were both elected to the board. Grant received 1,219 votes, while White received 987. Terrence Spurling was a close third with 949 votes. Carl Lord Jr. was fourth in the balloting with 522 votes. Bernaiche received one vote as a write-in candidate.
The Houlton Water Company elected two individuals to its board of directors. Albert Fitzpatrick received 1,848 votes and Scott Austin received 1,677. Two write-ins — Lord Jr. (four votes) and Bernaiche (two votes)— also received votes.
Three individuals were elected to the town’s Board of Budget Review, two via write-in candidacies. Donald Keiser received 1,734 votes, while write-in candidates Dorothy Donahue (44 votes) and Paul Cleary (28 votes) were also elected. Bernaiche also received 11 votes as a write-in.
Lauren Fitzpatrick was elected to the Cary Library Board of Trustees with 1,878 votes. She was running unopposed.
In state races for the Maine Senate and House of Representatives, Aroostook County voters sent several incumbents back to Augusta, and also featured some upsets. The following is a recap of districts in the Houlton Pioneer Times’ coverage area.
Senate Dist. 34 (includes Houlton, Hodgdon, Littleton, Monticello, Hammond, Ludlow, New Limerick, Linneus, Cary Plantation, Amity, Orient, Weston, Bancroft, Haynesville, Sherman, Crystal, Island Falls, Dyer Brook, Oakfield, Moro, Merrill, Smyrna) — Incumbent Roger Sherman beat Patrick Gordon to return to Augusta. Sherman received 8.029 votes (61.25 percent), while Gordon garnered 5,079 (38.75 percent).
Sherman won in Houlton 1,202-819; Hodgdon, 403-115; Littleton, 241-120; Monticello, 175-128; Hammond, 28-17; New Limerick, 178-84; Linneus, 218-88; Cary Plantation, 56-32; Amity, 61-21; Orient, 42-24; Weston, 99-18; Bancroft, 14-9; Haynesville, 40-8; Sherman, 335-158; Crystal, 80-39; Island Falls, 233-146; Dyer Brook, 76-37; Oakfield, 185-97; Moro, 24-2; Merrill, 47-40; and Smyrna, 57-47. In Ludlow, Sherman and Gordon tied 77-77.
House District 6 (includes Bridgewater) — Incumbent Tyler Clark received 2,180 (68.36 percent) of the votes, while challenger Nathan Smith received 1,009 (31.64 percent). Bridgewater narrowly supported Clark by a vote of 114-104.
House District 7 (includes Hammond, Littleton, Monticello) — Alexander Willette received 1,654 votes (54.02 percent), while Troy Haines garnered 1,408 votes (45.98 percent). Haines carried Hammond 24-18; Willette was victorious in Littleton, 207-148, and Monticello, 166-133.
House District 8 (Houlton, Hodgdon, Cary, Amity, Orient) — Challenger Joyce Fitzpatrick defeated incumbent Richard Cleary in one of the surprise upsets of the election. Fitzpatrick received 1,617 votes (57.96 percent) to Cleary’s 1,173 (42.04 percent). Fitzpatrick won in Houlton 1,105-922; Hodgdon, 366-153; Cary Plantation, 54-36; Amity, 56-24. Cleary was victorious in Orient, 38-36.
House District 9 (includes Haynesville, Island Falls, Linneus, Sherman and Weston) — Ricky Long won a three-way race. Long received 1,805 votes, while Patrick Hunt received 1,242 (36.35 percent) and Robert Zabierek secured 370 votes (10.83 percent). In Haynesville, Long received 24 votes; Hunt, 23; and Zabierek, three. In Island Falls, Hunt received 227 votes; Long, 139; and Zabierek, 20; In Linneus, Long garnered 171 votes; Hunt, 104; and Zabierek, 24. In Sherman, Long received 267 votes; Hunt, 153; and Zabierek, 80. In Weston, Long collected 77 votes; Hunt, 35; and Zabierek, six.
Editor’s Note: The voting results were collected from the Bangor Daily News’ Campaign 2010 website.