Old Town voters chose all incumbents in Tuesday’s city council election, with President Linda McLeod gathering the largest number of votes.
McLeod received 1,109 votes for the city council, according to results provided by City Clerk Laura Engstrom. She has served on the council for six years. David Wight will also keep his seat on the council, tallying 1,059 votes. Stanley Peterson received 1,018 votes.
During Tuesday’s election at the Elks Lodge, voters also cast 58 ballots for write-in candidates, according to information from Engstrom. McLeod, Wight and Peterson beat Zachary Wyles, a 23-year-old candidate running for the second time.
The total number of ballots cast in the municipal election was not immediately available, but the state election drew 1,722 ballots.
“We have had a great turnout so far,” the clerk said around noon Tuesday. “Very steady and going smooth.”
Nearly all four candidates running for council seats expressed concerns about the future of Old Town’s pulp mill and their desire to keep the city’s tax rate from burdening residents. McLeod also noted the attraction of new businesses as a top priority to help keep the tax base down.
McLeod, 71, is retired from jobs as a teacher and principal at Indian Island School and later as Maine Indian Education’s superintendent. Cracking down on what is happening with the mill and the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill are also key issues, she said before the election.
Wight was first elected to the council in November 2020. He is a former Maine forest ranger who served on the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission for more than two decades, and he worked as Old Town’s public works director for 12 years.
Peterson has served as a councilor for the past nine years. The 73-year-old is retired after teaching industrial arts, woodworking and similar classes at Old Town High School for 44 years.
Establishing a budget is the council’s top responsibility, he said leading up to the election. Somehow, through budget cuts or raising the mill rate, the city needs to save what the mill was paying in taxes to keep the community viable, he said.
Voters also chose Joanna Preble, with 1,267 votes; Hunter Umphrey, with 1,218 votes; and Christina Lannan, with 1,215 votes as school board members. All of them currently serve as Old Town members on Regional School Unit 34’s board.
Voters cast 40 ballots for write-in candidates.
