HALLOWELL — The results of the municipal elections are in, and Hallowell residents have reelected George Lapointe as their mayor.

“I am feeling good and relieved and ready for what’s next,” Lapointe said Tuesday night after learning the results. “Which is using the council to address issues of development downtown and the housing problem.”

Lapointe, who has been the mayor of Hallowell since 2020, defeated his city hall colleague, Councilor Maureen AuCoin, for a second time. This year’s race — with Lapointe getting 704 votes against AuCoin’s 479 — was not as close as it was in 2020 when Lapointe won by a mere 2 votes.

Twenty-seven people who submitted ballots did not choose either candidate, instead leaving the bubbles blank.

“Maureen congratulated me and told me she hopes to work together, and so do I,” Lapointe said. “We have been in the process of running against each other for months, and now it’s time to sit down and sort out the priorities for Hallowell and work on them.”

Lapointe, 66, first took office just months before the world ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ushering the town through that period of uncertainty is undoubtedly a feather in his cap. So is the role he played chairing the group that recently produced the land care management ordinance that banned pesticides.

As for the next three years, he has made his priorities clear: hiring a grant writer to help finance the $5 million renovation of the old fire station on Second Street in Hallowell and improving regional relationships with other neighboring towns for better resources and cost-sharing. Lapointe also intends to make the city’s infrastructure more environmentally sustainable, starting with the waterfront.

Hallowell’s other contested race was for the Ward 2 seat on the City Council. Ward 2 covers part of the city’s downtown area, including areas northeast of Second Street, starting at Chestnut Street, and a portion of Water Street, north of Central Street.

Michael Frett, an incumbent and municipal veteran, defeated Hannah Barry, a resident who had never held municipal office. The final tally was 121 to 74, with 9 blanks.

“I am feeling pretty good and empowered in terms of being prepared in terms of some of the things that need to be done in Hallowell,” Frett said Tuesday night. “In sincerity, this was the first time I was challenged for the position, and I wasn’t prepared for that. That gave me an opportunity to reflect and learn and to hear from people in my ward in the city about what’s of interest to them.”

Frett, 80, reclaimed his seat on the council, which he has held since 2016. As he declared while campaigning, over the next three years, he will be focusing on bringing more businesses to the downtown area where numerous storefronts sit vacant. He is also working with the Maine Department of Transportation to redevelop Second Street to connect it to Augusta.

Frett said Tuesday night he had not heard from his opponent but he will be open to working collaboratively on common goals in the future.

“As I said before, I do acknowledge that I was impressed that they (Barry) were willing to put themselves out there, to enter the electoral process and to become a part of what it takes to move Hallowell forward.”

In a pair of uncontested races, Danielle Obery won the Ward 4 seat on the City Council with 169 votes and 55 blanks, and Christopher Myers Asch was reelected to the Regional School Unit 2 board of directors with 972 votes and 238 blanks.

Across all wards a total of 1,210 ballots were cast, according to City Clerk Lisa Gilliam.

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