Bucksport voters have chosen an incumbent and the head of a local business group for the Town Council.
Edwin Rankin Jr., an incumbent on the board, received 1,094 votes and Teri Doty, executive director of the Bucksport Bay Business Coalition, received 730, according to the town’s unofficial results. Each was elected for a three-year term.
The other candidates were former state legislator Ralph Chapman, who finished 22 votes behind Doty with 708, and Steven St. Peter Jr., who received 280.
During the campaign, all the candidates emphasized attracting new business and trying to keep property taxes from growing as priorities.
The two new members of the seven-member council will guide the town as it adapts to operating without the cushion of money saved to offset the 2014 closure of the Verso Paper mill, a major employer and taxpayer. After about a decade of use to keep amenities and services while deflating taxes, those funds were depleted this year, leading to an increase in property taxes for many residents.
Rankin, a local mechanic who sought a third term, said one of his primary goals was to continue the town’s momentum and preserve its growth while providing experienced guidance for Town Manager Jacob Gran, who started his role earlier this year.
Chapman, a retired teacher and scientist who previously represented Brooksville as a state legislator for four terms, is a regular council meeting attendee. He wanted to continue representing the town’s interest in closing an embattled landfill owned by the scrap metal company that bought the mill’s holdings and retaining a key dam the company seeks to abandon, along with increasing communication and restarting recycling.
Doty said she wanted to use her local business and fundraising experience to help the town grow. She also suggested prioritizing creative ways to increase business activity without taxpayer funds.
St. Peter, who has run for council for several years, wanted to increase electric vehicle use and infrastructure, green energy jobs, and larger-scale business development in town.
In a close race to elect a local representative to the RSU 25 school board, challenger Emily Fitzgerald edged incumbent Keith Kneeland Jr. for a three-year term. She got 773 votes and Kneeland got 770.
