CARIBOU, Maine — In an often close race on Tuesday, Caribou voters opted to re-elect current city mayor Jody Smith and put a new face in the city council come January.
Smith, one of two incumbents to run for re-election, received 561 votes while John Morrill received 576. Those results officially make Morrill the councilor to replace deputy mayor Tom Ayer, who received 371.
Returning council candidates Dave Martin and Hugh Kirkpatrick received 534 and 508 votes, respectively. The remaining candidates — William “Bill” Merchant and Paul Watson — received 442 and 373 votes, respectively.
Smith and Morrill will officially be sworn in for three-year terms during the city council’s first meeting in January 2022. Morrill previously expressed desire to help address the city’s dilapidated buildings and update zoning rules to promote business and residential development.
He will be joining the council during a time of much debate over the fate of a new police station. Though the council remains divided on the issue, a nonbinding survey conducted during Tuesday’s election showed that 1,008 support the proposed $9.9 million building design while 810 do not.
Another official referendum will be needed to determine whether Caribou voters are willing to invest in the proposed price tag for the new station.
In other races, voters reelected Bethany Anderson to another three-year term on the RSU 39 school board. Anderson received 687 votes while competing candidates Andrea Flannery and Kylee Morrell received 545 and 425 votes, respectively.
This year’s election also featured five ballot questions concerning council charter amendments, all of which were passed by voters.
Question 1 received 489 votes against and 1,253 in favor of forbidding councilors from holding any other city office position and requiring that they pay personal and property taxes prior to taking their oath of office in January.
Question 2 received 390 votes against and 1,384 in favor of requiring councilors to attend all regular meetings, budget workshops and committee meetings unless excused by the council. The charter says that a councilor must forfeit their office if they do not attend 80 percent of regular meetings without being excused by the council or 80 percent of budget workshops and committee meetings without being excused.
Question 3 received 346 votes against and 1,420 in favor of requiring the city to publish notices of ordinance public hearings in local newspapers, the city’s social media and on its public access station.
Question 4 received 577 votes against and 1,092 in favor of requiring city council to hold public hearings, preceded by a seven-day notice, before approving real estate transactions, except those that involve tax-acquired properties.
Question 5 received 307 votes against and 1,389 in favor of forbidding councilors from “knowingly or willfully” using city materials to “make, solicit or receive” campaign funds for city elections or participate in the campaign for other public candidates.
In the state referendum race, 805 Caribou residents voted “yes” to reject the proposed CMP corridor while 1,041 voted “no” in favor of the corridor, which ultimately failed in the statewide election.
Caribou voters were in favor of a $100,000 bond to improve state infrastructure, with 1,300 voting “yes” and 577 voting “no” on Question 2. They also supported a state constitutional amendment to include a “right to food” statement, with 1,027 voting “yes” and 832 voting “no.”
