WESTBROOK — Bill Holmes of Westbrook, director of the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center for the last 16 years, lost in his bid to unseat Tom Coward on the Cumberland County Commission for District 4.

As of Wednesday morning, Coward had pulled in 11,909 votes to Holmes’ 7,903. Each candidate did well in his hometown with Coward capturing close to 72 percent of the vote in South Portland and Holmes taking almost 58 percent of the vote in Westbrook. 

District 4 represents Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Westbrook and the North Deering section of Portland.

Coward, an attorney and real estate agent, said he was seeking another term to continue to “give back to the community.”

“This is a good way for me to contribute and make Cumberland County a good place to live now and in the future,” Coward, a former city councilor and mayor in South Portland, said during his campaign.

He said his top priority was to get the state to continue picking up its share of the jail’s operating costs. He also wanted to look into new regional and community partnerships, such as having the county handle code enforcement duties for some communities and finding a way to “push up” plans for the county to support more recreational opportunities, especially in more rural areas, by adding funding to  local efforts for parks and trails.

Holmes campaigned on bringing a fiscally conservative approach to the county budget, continuing the work on regional and community partnerships, and improving public safety.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 780-9106 or mkelley@keepmecurrent.com or on Twitter @mkelleynews

Tom Coward