FARMINGDALE — Joseph Connors was elected to fill the vacancy on the Board of Selectmen in a special election Tuesday, just as another seat has become vacant.
Joseph Connors
After the votes were tallied Tuesday, Connors, 48, was sworn in to serve two years, the balance of the term Wayne Kilgore was elected to last year. Kilgore stepped down from the board in February.
Connors earned 59 votes and Isaiah Peppard earned 51.
Connors said he’ll attend his first meeting as selectman Wednesday.
Before the special election, Connors said he decided to run because he saw the opening and had reached a point where he had the time to dedicate to the position.
He currently works as a service adviser at Charlie’s Motor Mall in Augusta. He has also worked as general manager and machinist for 24 years at Butler-MacMaster in Hallowell.
Both Connors and Peppard, 43, staged unsuccessful last-minute write-in campaigns at the municipal election in June, and both stepped up to run in the special election.
Connors’ election win brings the number of selectmen currently serving on the board to two, the minimum number needed to conduct town business. Tyler Tripp, who had been the second selectman serving with Doug Ebert, was expected to step down from the board Wednesday, creating another vacancy.
Tripp declined to comment on his planned resignation Wednesday, but confirmed he would resign at the selectmen’s meeting.
Tripp was elected to the board in 2020, edging out incumbent Nancy Frost by three votes.
Before Tuesday’s special election both Connors and Peppard had also said they would run for the other vacancy if not elected. On Wednesday, Peppard confirmed he will be a candidate in the November special election.
Nomination papers for the November election are due at the Farmingdale Town Office no later than 5 p.m. Sept. 12.
In Farmingdale, selectmen are each paid $5,000 a year.
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