Topsham residents sent Ann Callahan and Ryan Holmes to the Select Board, and Michael Timberlake, Mary Hobson, Kimberly Pacelli and River Khoriaty to the Maine School Administrative District 75 board, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election.
Callahan and Holmes earned 2,325 and 1,720 votes, respectively, in their bid to fill one of two open three-year seats on the Topsham Select Board. The third candidate running for one of the two seats, David Kenney, fell just 66 votes shy of Holmes.
“I am grateful to all of the Topsham residents who voted for me,” Callahan said Wednesday morning. “Thank you for your support. I am looking forward to serving the Town of Topsham as a member of the Select Board.”
Holmes, 42, is the founder and owner of Sundog Caregiving LLC, a medical marijuana and cannabis retailer in Topsham. During his campaign, he identified one of his priorities as to “listen actively to our residents’ needs and understand the importance for keeping Topsham rural while allowing growth.”
In the SAD 75 School Board race, incumbent Timberlake was the top vote-getter with 2,523. Also earning seats on the board were incumbent Hobson (2,487), incumbent Pacelli (2,444), and newcomer Khoriaty (1,924), according to unofficial results. Annalyse Sarvinas fell short of her bid for a seat on the board, drawing 1,521 votes.
SAD 75 has seen significant turnover in recent years, with six executive leadership transitions in five years. Numerous board members have resigned in recent years as well, citing in-fighting and lack of progress.
Timberlake, 51, is a 1990 graduate of Mt. Ararat whose parents and grandmother all worked as educators in the district. He is married with three sons, two of whom graduated from Mt. Ararat, with the third on his way to doing so.
Hobson has been deeply entrenched in the SAD 75 community for years as well. A retired teacher, she’s also the mother of four Mt. Ararat grads.
Pacelli, 46, has one child in elementary school at Woodside. She is a partner at TNG Consulting and formerly worked at Bowdoin College as the senior associate dean of student affairs and director of residential life.
“I’m honored and excited that the town of Topsham voted to support me continuing my work on the SAD 75 School Board,” Pacelli said following her election to the board. “Despite the many challenges we have been facing, our district has excellent momentum right now, and to have such strong engagement from the community is vitally important. I hope the community will stay engaged by attending meetings or just letting us know what issues are important to them.”
Khoriaty, who works as a high school math and science teacher in Lewiston, was a member of the teacher scholars program at Bowdoin College, where they graduated from in 2021. They are engaged and live in Topsham.
In all, 3,824 Topsham residents cast ballots in Tuesday’s off-year election, representing a 45% turnout for registered voters, according to Town Clerk Linda Dumont.
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