FAIRFIELD — Voters chose two challengers to fill two open seats on the Fairfield Town Council, while the council’s vice chairman failed in his re-election bid on Tuesday.

Richard Letourneau and Aaron Rowden unseated incumbent Harold “Jim” Murray.

Letourneau received 470 votes; Rowden, 466; and Murray, 384.

Letourneau, 44, is an employee of Dirigo Engineering working as an inspector on the Summit Natural Gas pipeline. A Lawrence High School graduate, he served in the Army and graduated from the Maine Maritime Academy with a degree in power engineering technology.

As a candidate, he said he would use his background in construction management to have a positive influence on the town’s long-term planning and budget processes.

With limited governing experience, Letourneau said he didn’t have many concrete ideas about how to improve the town, but he did express support for the Police Athletic League and said he would be likely to vote for an expansion of its services. Earlier this year, voters approved $35,600 to support the league, which is used by about 600 town children.

Rowden, 27, an attorney, has mounted unsuccessful bids for the council and the Legislature in the past. He is president of the town’s committee for Central Maine CATV, the local public-access television station.

As a candidate, Rowden said the most important issue facing the town is its budget, and that he would devote much of his energy to crafting a budget for next year.

Rowden said he would scrutinize each expenditure, and he expressed support for the athletic league and other nonprofit groups, an area which Murray said he would consider cutting to benefit the Fairfield taxpayer.

Voters also voted in favor of all five state bond questions on the ballot, and, in uncontested races, elected Arel Spaulding and Stewart Kinley to three-year terms on the Fairfield-based School Administrative District 49 board and Albert Hodsdon to a three-year term on the Kennebec Water District board.

Murray and council Chairwoman Tracey Stevens, whose term expires this year, will remain in office until January 2, when new councilors will be sworn into office during the Town Council’s annual organizational meeting.

Fairfield election results were unavailable at press time Tuesday night.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287 mhhetling@centralmaine.com Twitter: @hh_matt

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