Slate of candidates set for Windham town election in November

The field of declared candidates has been finalized for
Windham's town and state election to be held on Tuesday,
Nov. 2 in the Windham High School Auxiliary Gym. Voters
will fill three town council seats, two RSU 14 Board of 
Directors positions and the Windham Town Clerk position
in the election. FILE PHOTO  

By Ed Pierce

The list of candidates for public office in Windham has been finalized and includes a few incumbents seeking re-election and some new faces hoping to obtain enough votes to be elected to available positions.

After filing paperwork with the town clerk’s office by the established deadline of Sept. 3, the candidates will now embark upon their campaigns after being officially placed on the ballot by Windham Town Clerk Linda S. Morrell.

The election will be on Tuesday, Nov. 2 in the Auxiliary Gym at Windham High School. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Morrell said that as of Tuesday, there are 14,447 registered voters in Windham, but she’s not expecting a large turnout for this election.

“I would expect between the absentees and in-person voting at the polls about 2,500 to 3,800 votes which has been the turnout in the past,” Morrell said. “If anything brings them out, it will be Question 1 on the state ballot. I don’t think the candidate ballot will generate too much interest.”

Question 1 on the state ballot asks voters if they want to ban the construction of high-impact electric transmission lines in the Upper Kennebec Region and to require the Maine Legislature to approve all other such projects anywhere in Maine, both retroactively to 2020, and to require the legislature, retroactively to 2014, to approve by a two-thirds vote such projects using public land.

Local candidates on the November ballot include incumbent David J. Nadeau, who is running unopposed for the Windham Town Council’s At-Large seat for a three-year term.    

Nadeau currently serves as the chair of the Windham Town Council and has been a town councilor for 10 years and previously spent 10 years as a member of Windham’s Planning Board. He was a recipient of the Maine Planners Association’s Citizen Award in 2020 for his long-term vision for the community, volunteerism, mentoring other volunteers and elected officials as well as going above and beyond in understanding planning initiatives and goals of Windham’s future success.

Incumbent Edward M. Ohmott is seeking a one-year term on the council for an At-Large position.

Ohmott was appointed to fill the At-Large vacancy on the council during a meeting on May 25 following the resignation of Councilor David Douglass.

He previously served on Windham’s Smith Cemetery Committee and Long-Range Planning Committee. Since his appointment to the council, Ohmott has been a member of the town’s Marijuana License Fee Committee.

He’s the former president of Champion Cordage, an industrial supplies and equipment firm in California.

No declared candidate filed paperwork for the Windham Town Council’s West District for a three-year term. The position is currently held by Timothy Nangle, but he did not file papers for re-election. Nangle has been serving as the council’s parliamentarian. 

Morrell, Windham’s longtime Town Clerk, filed paperwork seeking re-election to the position. Morrell originally spent eight years as a ballot clerk during Windham elections, then worked as a deputy clerk for the Town of Windham for seven years. She has served the last 27 years as Windham’s Town Clerk overseeing elections and the town clerk’s office at the Windham Town Hall. 

Incumbents Jennie Butler and Christina Small are seeking re-election for three-year terms as RSU 14 board directors. Two seats on the board are up for grabs with six declared candidates.

Butler taught math at the high school level for 31 years and part-time at the University of Southern Maine. She has formerly been a candidate for the Maine Legislature.

She’s known for her belief that Maine needs to provide a well-rounded education for jobs which will bring young families to Windham and says an excellent education is needed for good paying jobs which include skilled trades and for jobs that don’t exist yet.    

Small was appointed to the school board in early 2020 and is a stay-at-home mom who has lived in Windham for eight years.

Small says she believes public education is an investment and was proud to work with the board to create a responsible budget that voters approved even amid the economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.  Her priorities include helping to align RSU 14’s procedures with ever-changing regulatory guidelines, and continuation of the district’s Social Emotional Learning work.  

Also vying for seats on the board are Barbara Bagshaw; Jessica M.H. Bridges; Carrie S. Grant; and Michael Pasquini.

The Windham Eagle will offer an in-depth look of all declared candidates prior to the election. <

High voter turnout determines elections results

By Ed Pierce

Significant choices made by voters during Tuesday’s general election will shape the direction of the Windham and Raymond communities for the near future.

Through in-person voting, mail-in and absentee balloting, area voters decided the fate of a special referendum in Raymond to withdraw from RSU 14 and chose elected officials to represent Windham and Raymond in the Maine Legislature, the Maine Senate, on the RSU 14 Windham School Board and picked two councilors to serve on the Windham Town Council.      

In Raymond, Town Clerk Sue Look said that a total of 3,149 voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election.

The Raymond referendum asking residents if they should withdraw from RSU 14 was defeated with 2,048 votes to 1,018 supporting the proposal.

The referendum was initiated over an ongoing concern from some Raymond residents regarding the town’s level of input and the lack of local control about the school district’s decisions and it was part of a 22-step process required by the State Department of Education to set up a new school district. But those opposed to the withdrawal said it would do more harm to students than good and the voters agreed by voting no on the referendum.

In balloting for Maine House District 67 representing part of Gray, part of Casco, Frye Island and a portion of Raymond, incumbent Sue Austin, a Republican, received 354 votes in Raymond, while Democrat Susan Accardi received 328 votes and Independent Mark Grover tallied 80. Austin won the
seat overall with a total of 3,085 votes to Susan Accardi’s 1,669 and Mark Grover’s 913 votes.

Voting for Maine House District 66, representing part of Raymond, part of Casco and part of Poland, incumbent Democrat Jessica Fay received 1,251 votes from Raymond residents to Republican Gregory Foster’s 1,060 votes. Overall, Fay won the seat with 2,884 votes to Gregory Foster’s 2,745 votes.

“I am grateful to everyone who came out and voted today, and in particular to everyone who worked so incredibly hard to make a day with record breaking turnout run smoothly,” Fay said. “We ran a completely positive campaign focused on ideas and collaboration and I am so proud of that. Maine will face serious challenges in the next two years, and I am ready to help us meet them, together."

In Windham, Town Clerk Linda S. Morrell said results of Tuesday’s election are official.

Morrell said that in voting for Maine House District 24 representing part of Windham, incumbent Democrat Mark Bryant ran unopposed and received 4,638 votes, while incumbent Republican Patrick Corey also ran unopposed and retained his seat representing District 25 by picking up 4,334 votes.

In balloting for State Senate District 26 representing Baldwin, Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Standish and Windham, Democrat Bill Diamond received 7,426 votes in Windham to Republican Karen Lockwood’s 3,784 votes. Voters in Raymond cast 1,779 votes for Diamond to Lockwood’s 1,289 votes and overall, Diamond retained his seat in the Maine Senate.

"I want to congratulate my opponent, Ms. Lockwood, for running a thoughtful and positive campaign.
Mostly, I want to thank the voters of Windham, Raymond, Standish, Casco, Baldwin and Frye Island for your overwhelming support at the polls,” Diamond said. “Once again I’m humbled by your tremendous endorsement of confidence." 

Voters chose businessman Mark Morrison to serve a three-year term as the At-Large position on the Windham Town Council over former town councilor Robert Muir. Morrison received 5,521 votes to Muir’s 3,739 votes.

In the race for a three-year term representing Windham’s East District on the town council, Brett Jones received 5,102 votes to political newcomer Harrison Deah’s 3,621 voters. Jones, a captain in the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department and a longtime Windham resident,  was appointed by the town council in April to fill the remaining months of the East District seat vacated by the resignation of Councilor Rebecca Cummings in February.

“First of all, I’d like to thank all those who supported me,” Jones said. “I am extremely honored to be able to serve the citizens of Windham and I am excited to continue the work of moving Windham forward.”

Also elected during Tuesday’s voting were incumbents Kathyrn Brix and Pete Heansler to three-year terms on the RSU 14 Windham School Board. Brix received 6,864 votes and Heansler tallied 4,315 votes.

Voters also elected Christina Small of Windham to serve a one-year term on the RSU 14 Windham School Board. Small had been appointed to serve on the board earlier this year following the resignation of Dawn Dillon. She tallied 8,570 votes.

“My priorities for this year will be helping to align our procedures with ever changing regulatory guidelines, the improvement of our distance learning program and continuation of our Social Emotional Learning work,” Small wrote about her candidacy in a letter to the editor last month. <