OAKLAND — Longtime Town Council Chairman Michael Perkins will extend his tenure on the town’s governing board after voters showed strong support for him at the polls Tuesday.
Also elected to the council was Budget & Advisory Committee member David Groder. Jerry Harrington, a clerk of the works who was the third candidate to vie for the two seats, was not successful. The vote was 582 for Perkins, 453 for Groder and 387 for Harrington, according to Deputy Town Manager Jan Porter.
Michael Perkins
“We have a great council,” Perkins said Tuesday night after the results came in. “Congratulations to Dave Groder — he’s going to be a great addition. Mr. Harrington did a great job, ran a great race. He did very well.”
Perkins, 58, who is also a state representative, has been on the council since 2008 and its chair since 2009. Groder is the deputy chief of Augusta Fire Department, as well as a volunteer firefighter and reserve police officer in Oakland. Groder will step down from the Budget & Advisory Committee in order to serve on the council, he said.
“I want to thank everybody for the support that I got,” Groder said. “I didn’t know that the support would be that great, but it was awesome to get the support that I did.”
David Groder Courtesy David Groder
Perkins’ and Groder’s terms will begin in January. Groder will take Councilor Harold Buzzell’s seat after Buzzell decided not to run this year because he needed to devote time elsewhere.
The uncontested candidates in all other municipal races did not receive any write-in challengers.
Michael Tracy will serve a three-year term on the Regional School Unit 18 board starting in July. In the meantime, Tracy holds a temporary seat on the board, which he was appointed to after Mary Anne Lamarre stepped down in September.
Incumbents Donna Doucette and Max Marston will renew their positions on the town’s Budget & Advisory Committee for another four years. Donna Griffin will also serve on the committee, filling the final open seat.
On the state ballot questions, the infrastructure bond received 596 yes votes and 237 no votes in Oakland. Question 2, about the constitutional amendment, received 575 yes votes and 252 no votes.
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