Lebanon
Residents also voted on Tuesday to pass a $42.3 million budget for the Lebanon School District and approved a three-year contract between the district and support staff.
City Councilor Karen Liot Hill narrowly fended off a challenge from for an at-large seat, receiving 527 votes to defeat Catherine Patch (521) and Michael Balog (61).
This will be Liot Hill’s seventh term on the City Council.
“I am just feeling incredibly grateful for everyone who came out to vote today and braved the weather to cast their ballot,” she said. “I am just filled with gratitude.”
Liot Hill said she was happy to see so many candidates run for office this year.
She has advocated in the past for getting young people involved in city politics, and said she encouraged several candidates this year to run.
“I am grateful for everyone who ran for office and also voted today, and especially I am grateful for the people who voted to return me to office,” Liot Hill said. “I obviously have some work to do and I am even more committed than ever to working for the best interests of the people of Lebanon.”
Shane Smith, a finance officer at Hypertherm, defeated former City Councilor Dean Sorenson 225-149 for a two-year term representing Ward 2.
This will be Smith’s first term on the council. He ran for the open seat promising to look closely at the impact of development on the city.
“I think the campaign went well. It was good to get out in the neighborhood,” said Smith, who canvassed Ward 2 neighborhoods and knocked on doors ahead of the vote.
Smith said he was excited to see voters turn out to the polls during Tuesday’s snowstorm, and hopes interest in city elections will continue to grow in the coming years.
Jim Winny also was elected to his first term on the City Council, defeating former city councilor Dan Nash 255-73. Devin Wilkie’s name was also on the ballot, but he bowed out of the campaign last month and endorsed Winny for the seat.
“I’m pleased to have won. I got a lot of support and will do my best to represent the folks who came out to support me, and everyone who voted in Ward 1,” Winny said.
“I’m looking forward to serving the folks of the city and trying to keep Lebanon moving forward,” he said.
City Councilors Sue Prentiss and Clifton Below ran unopposed for two-year terms. Prentiss received 309 votes, while Below had 316.
The City Council is expected to choose a new mayor during its meeting tonight. Georgia Tuttle, who served eight years as mayor, did not seek re-election this year to the City Council.
Erin Madory was the top vote getter in an eight-way race for three seats on the School Board. She received 508 votes and will be joined on the board by incumbent Richard Milius (464) and Adam Nemeroff (390).
Jennifer Mansfield received 387 votes, just a few short of Nemeroff. Incumbent Ralph Horak, who had recently been appointed to fill a vacancy, received 271 votes. Other candidates who came up short were Jason Finley (293), Joshua Henderson (174) and Chris Lamontagne (236).
“I am really pleased. I felt like there were so many good candidates, and I’m honored to have been elected,” said Madory, a Spanish teacher at the Francis C. Richmond Elementary School in Hanover.
She said her experience in education resonated with many of the voters she spoke with during the campaign, and also credited her efforts to reach residents before the vote as helping her cause.
“I’m just hoping I can do good work and I’m grateful for the faith that people have in me,” Madory said.
Residents also voted 855-254 to approve a $42.3 million school district budget for the 2017-18 school year. The budget is an increase of $1.5 million over the current year’s.
A collective bargaining agreement between the school district and the support staff also passed, 860-264. The contract is estimated to cost the district an additional $39,116 in the 2017-18 school year, followed by an increase of $138,390 in 2018-19 and $152,744 in 2019-20.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.