SKOWHEGAN — Lloyd Trafton of West Forks and Robin Frost of Palmyra will be the new Somerset County commissioners in January, according to unofficial tallies from elections on Tuesday.
A new five-member board takes effect Jan. 1, based on the county charter passed by voters in 2010. The board currently has three districts and three county commissioners.
Voters also approved an amendment to the county charter that would extend the term of office for each of the five county commissioners from three years to four.
In the District 5 race for county commissioner, Trafton, 65, a former game warden, school board member and selectman, defeated Andrew Davis, 56, of Solon, a longtime School Administrative District 74 board chairman. The vote was 1,073-1,049.
Trafton will represent Athens, Bingham, Brighton Plantation, Cambridge, Caratunk, Concord Township, Dennistown Plantation, Harmony, Jackman, Moose River, Moscow, Pleasant Ridge Plantation, Ripley, St. Albans, Solon, The Forks, West Forks and the unorganized territories of Central Somerset, Northeast Somerset, Seboomook Lake Township and Northwest Somerset, except Lexington Township.
In the newly formed District 3, candidate Robin Frost, 61, a citizen member of the Maine Sheriff’s Association, beat his opponent, Shane Reitze, 40, also of Palmyra. The vote was 1,372-574.
Frost will represent Canaan, Detroit, Hartland, Palmyra and Pittsfield.
Elections for the other districts will begin in 2012.
The new commissioners will be sworn in at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4, during the county commissioners’ first meeting of the new year.
The vote on the charter amendment was approved 6,942-4,229.
The initial term of office for the commissioner representing Districts 1 and 2 will expire Dec. 31, 2012. The initial term of office for the commissioner representing Districts 3, 4 and 5 will expire on Dec. 31, 2014.
A new county Budget Committee also will be formed to reflect the two new districts. That will happen in late January or early February, according to Assistant County Administrator Lori Costa.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.