Westbrook voters picked incumbent Mayor Bruce Chuluda over challenger Jim Violette Tuesday by a margin that mirrored the city’s election results two years ago.
Voters favored Democrat Lynda Adams as a replacment for long-time City Clerk Barbara Hawkes, and several city councilors facing challengers won re-election.
Although Violette won narrow victories in three of city’s five wards, Chuluda won citywide, 2,001-1,755, bolstered by a large margin of victory in his home, Ward 2.
“This is an especially gratifying win,” said Chuluda, after walking in to Profenno’s Pizzeria shortly after polls closed to a chorus of applause. “I wish my wife could be here, I hope she’s watching me,” he said.
Chuluda’s wife, Vicki, died earlier this year. After his victory in 2005, he was greeted with the winning results and a kiss from his wife at Thatcher’s Restaurant.
After learning the results, Violette had little to say, except that he had worked hard to win. “The voters spoke,” he said.
Speaking a short time later to Democrats gathered Tuesday night at an American Legion Hall on Conant Street, Violette pointed out that Democrats still control the council. He reiterated his concerns that Chuluda had been inappropriately entering into separation agreements with city employees without going to council for approval.
“You’re mayor of three-fifths of Westbrook,” Council President Brendan Rielly said to Violette, referring to his victories in wards 1, 4 and 5.
In Ward 1, voters favored Violette over Chuluda, 316-313. Ward 2 voters heavily favored Chuluda, 401-270. In Ward 3, Chuluda was favored, 298-208. Violette was favored in Ward 4, 225-207, and in Ward 5, 518-505. Central office tallied another 277 votes for Chuluda and 218 for Violette.
Rielly won re-election, 606-175, over Republican challenger Dennis Welch.
Rielly said he was “very disappointed with the mayoral results” and that he hopes communication and cooperation between the council and the administration improves. The Democrats have been vocal recently about a communication riff between the legislative and executive bodies.
“I’m very excited that the voters returned Drew Gattine to city council, and Michael Foley,” said Rielly. “I think Phillip Gagnon had a heck of a race, especially his first time out.”
Gagnon lost a close race to Foley, 1,683-1,602, in a race for two at-large seats on the city council, with Republican John O’Hara taking the most votes, 2,001. O’Hara won in all five wards.
Gattine won his Ward 2 seat against Republican William Holmes, 428-310. Gattine, who ran unopposed in 2005, said he was happy that voters had a choice this year in filling the Ward 2 seat.
“You’re stuck with me for two more years,” Gattine joked after the numbers came in.
The most vied-for position, city clerk, with its $49,000-plus-benefits stipend, brought in three contenders this year. Voters chose Adams with 1,900 votes, beating Republican Deborah Frank, who received 1,574 votes and Ronald Trufant, who received 206 votes. Adams was favored in all five wards.
Adams worked for the city both in the clerk’s office and in the fire department from 1989 to 1998. She beat out Frank despite Frank’s endorsement from Hawkes and Frank’s experience campaigning for a seat on the school board and on city council, each of which she won once.
Adams said she was very happy to have won. “I worked as hard as I could work,” she said.
Ward 3’s Republican incumbent Ed Symbol, Ward 4’s Democrat incumbent Dotty Aube and Ward 5’s Democrat incumbent Suzanne Joyce all won their uncontested seats.
Joyce said the next two years with the same faces on the council and in the mayor’s office are going to be “very difficult.”
“It’s going to be an uphill battle as usual,” she said.
She was hoping for Violette to win so the council and administration could work as a team. Joyce said she is happy with the council Westbrook has.
“I think it will be really interesting,” Aube said of the incoming council and mayor. She said it’s a group of people “that works fairly well together,” though there are some issues they have become stuck on every year for several years. She’s not sure if compromises will be reached.
“I don’t know how you get there. Somebody’s got to look at it differently,” she said.
Democrat school committee candidates Alex Stone, Ward 1; Greg Smith, incumbent Ward 2; Maria Dorn, Ward 5; and Suzanne Bearor, at-large, all won their seats.
Based on the 3,756 mayoral ballots cast, 26 percent of Westbrook’s 14,362 registered voters hit the polls on Tuesday.
Many voters were hesitant about making known who they voted for. Harry Weir, a Ward 5 voter, said he voted for Chuluda because he’d “known him for a long time,” and Frank, “because Barbara (Hawkes) recommended her.”
Brock Bryant, voting at the armory on Stroudwater Street, said he voted for Chuluda. “He’s done a good job in office.” Bryant otherwise voted all Democrat except for at-large candidate John O’Hara.
Brad Wallace, at the armory, said he voted for O’Hara because he works with him and “he’s a good guy.”
Timothy Sylvain, also at the armory, said he voted for Violette because he doesn’t like what the city did with the registered sex-offender residency restriction ordinance earlier this year and hoped Violette might be able to do something different. Sylvain, a registered sex offender, said he barely dares to go anywhere in Westbrook now.
On state issues, Westbrook voters didn’t jive with the rest of the state on anything but land preservation.
Westbrook favored Question 1 to approve a casino in Washington County, 2,040-1,766. Statewide, the initiative failed.
“Overall I didn’t favor it, but they need the money for the tribe,” said Brock Bryant.
Westbrook voters defeated the Question 2 bond for research and economic development, 1,911-1,850, and for the Question 3 bond for Maine college campus improvements, 1,922-1,865. Both bonds narrowly passed overall in the state.
Westbrook voters voted in favor of the Question 4 bond, Land for Maine’s Future, 2,408-1,381. The rest of the state also passed it.
Westbrook voted against extending term limits, 2,541-1,188, as did the rest of the state.
Tim Crellin, left, husband of Westbrook’s former human resources director, Tina Crellin, hangs out with newly reelected Westbrook Mayor Bruce Chuluda at the Republican’s post-election gathering at Profenno’s on Main Street. much more honed effort by the Democrats,Send questions/comments to the editors.
