GREENE — An incumbent on the Board of Selectmen was unseated in Tuesday’s municipal election.
Mark Randall and Sheldon Bubier will join the board after receiving 257 and 178 votes, respectively. They edged out incumbent chairman Glenn Chateauvert, who received 167 votes.
The fourth candidate, Robert Hack, trailed with 48 votes.
Randall, the owner of Bubier Excavation/Construction in Greene, said he is excited for his first term on the board. He attributed his success in part to the community connections he’s made as a small business owner and a coach for many years.
He said he was thankful for those in the community who came out to support his bid for the Board of Selectmen.
This election was Bubier’s fourth time running to be a selectman and his second consecutive year. In previous elections, Bubier said he lost by as many as 13 votes and as little as just one.
Bubier is currently a member of the Budget Committee and the Solid Waste Committee. He has previously served on the Planning Board, the Maine School Administrative District 52 board of directors and a number of comprehensive plan committees prior to 2000.
After more than a decade break from town boards, Bubier chose to return last year because he was unhappy with the way the town was headed.
“How I behave will be different than (people) expect. They’re expecting battle and it’s not going to happen,” he said, adding that he plans to listen to what others have to say and will “behave myself for a while.”
Bubier said he believes that the addition of Randall and himself to the board will bring much needed expertise on budgeting and road construction.
Chateauvert expressed disappointment with the outcome, but said he was thrilled to see such a high turnout for the election Tuesday.
“It was a tight race and I didn’t come out on top, but that’s politics,” he said.
Chateauvert has served nine years on the Board of Selectmen.
SCHOOL BOARD
In the MSAD 52 board of directors election, 62% of candidates chose Bre Allard over Adam Blake. The final vote was 231-148.
Allard, a teacher with 17 years of experience, said she would prioritize improving student achievement and teacher retention during her campaign. Her opponent promised to be a voice for parents opposed to school programming on social emotional learning and LGBTQ+ topics.
Fewer votes were cast in the school board race this year than last year. This year, 379 votes were cast compared to 469 last year.
Allard said she is excited to start her three-year term on the board and expressed gratitude for the community members who supported her campaign.
She believes the community was looking for a moderate candidate looking to “do the dirty work on all (issues), not just one agenda” and someone with education experience.
Still, she acknowledged that her opponent’s portion of the vote was significant.
Allard currently works as a literacy coach at Lewiston Middle School. She previously taught English at Leavitt Area High School for five years.
Blake said residents are “getting what they wanted, that’s how elections are supposed to work.” Still, he pointed to the more than 2,000 registered voters in town who didn’t vote.
While many people were certainly voting on issues, he believes the majority of people who came out to vote in the school board election did so to support someone they knew.
He said the issues in the election largely aren’t “affecting people enough for them to take a position.”
He will continue to press for change in the school district as a parent, he said.
The election results will be certified this Saturday at the annual Town Meeting. It will take place at Greene Central School starting at 9 a.m.
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