AUGUSTA — Residents elected Annalee Morris-Polley to an at-large seat on the Augusta City Council, as the newcomer beat two opponents in the race to fill the spot.
Annalee Morris-Polley Submitted photo
Morris-Polley, in unofficial results, received 3,601 votes, topping Bobby-Jo Bechard’s 2,735 and Joseph Wathen’s 2,149, to take a seat currently held by Abigail St. Valle, who did not take out papers seeking reelection.
None of the three candidates have held elected positions in the city before.
Morris-Polley, 46, owner of a mental health and substance use agency licensed by the state, said during the election she ran for council because she’s lived in Augusta more than 40 years — where her family has lived for three generations — and she believed it’s important to have local people on the City Council who know the area, and know what people want Augusta to be.
In a three-way race to fill two at-large spots on the Augusta Board of Education, April Ambrose, with 4,919 votes, and Jonathan Reynolds, with 3,624 votes, took the seats, beating out Jane Maguire-Tyce, who received 3,015 votes.
They will replace board members Kevin Lamoreau and Pia Holmes, whose terms expire at the end of the year.
Damboise, 49, is a nurse practitioner and Reynolds, 33, is a community organizer for Mobilized Recovery.
Incumbents Mayor Mark O’Brien, who received 8,463 votes; Ward 2 City Councilor Kevin Judkins, who received 1,805 votes; and Ward 3 Board of Education member James Orr, who received 1,823 votes, were reelected in uncontested races.
Augusta voters also approved a request to borrow just under $5.5 million for capital improvement projects by a vote of 6,023-2,563.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.