Jeremy Clough, seeking political office for the first time, and longtime Regional School Unit 5 board member John Morang came out on top in a three-way race Tuesday for two open seats on the board of directors, handing Chairman Nelson Larkins a loss.
In the race for an at-large spot on the Town Council, Chairwoman Melanie Sachs easily defeated Doreen Christ, 1,227-458. No candidates returned nomination papers for the District 4 seat left vacant by the departure of Andy Wellen, but Leland Arris, with 50-write-in votes, prevailed over Jennifer Worthy, who received 26 write-in votes. Arris, general manager of the Freeport Sewer District, was also a winning write-in candidate for a term on the Freeport Water District Trustees, with 11 votes.
Clough was the leading candidate in the RSU 5 race, with 1,102 votes. Morang was close behind at 970, and Larkins trailed with 857.
Louise Brogan was the only candidate for a one-year term on the school board, and garnered 1,380 votes.
Clough, a cyber security officer at Gorham Savings Bank, said in an email Tuesday night to the Tri-Town Weekly that he is “honored and humbled” by the victory.
“I am eager to get to work helping the district continue to move forward together,” he said. “With projects to govern like the high school expansion and proper oversight of the proficiency-based learning standards, there is no shortage of opportunities to help our schools continue to improve.”
It was the second election defeat in a year for Larkins, who finished third in a race for two open seats last November. But then the Town Council named him to replace Peter Murray, who had resigned with one year left on his term, and the school board then re-elected Larkins as chairman.
Two contests for positions on the Freeport District Trustees produced clear-cut winners.
Sara Randall, a consultant specializing in fisheries and natural resource management and policy, easily topped the four-way race for three, three-year terms with 1,068 votes. Andrew Sachs, a partner with a public safety and crisis management firm and husband of the Town Council chairwoman, was second with 952 votes, and incumbent Michael Ashby won the third seat with 932. James Harriman, a clam harvester, was fourth at 741.
Clint Goodenow, who decided not to run for another three-year position, ran for a one-year vacancy instead, and defeated Wilson Woodbury, owner of Freeport True Value Hardware, 780-474.
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