WESTBROOK— On Nov. 5, voters in all city wards will cast their ballots for elected officials at the Community Center, weighing in on contested and non-contested races.
The mayor’s race is split four ways, with Democratic incumbent Mike Sanphy running against Democratic nominee and At-Large City Councilor Mike Foley, Friends of the Presumpscot River President and Democrat Michael Shaughnessy and local organizer Phil Spiller Jr., the Republican nominee.
The race for the At-Large Council seat is also contested, with three candidates vying for the position currently held by Ann Peoples, who did not run. Voters will decide between Democratic nominee Claude Rwaganje, Democrat McDonald Johnson and Republican Steve Willette, who had served on the Council in 1998.
Ward 1 voters will choose between Democratic nominee David Morse, who was appointed to serve out the remainder of Brendan Rielly’s term for the past month, and Republican nominee Deb Shangraw.
Ward 5 voters will decide between incumbent Democrat Larry McWilliams and Elliot Storey, an unenrolled political newcomer and local business owner.
In Ward 2, Democrat Victor Chau is uncontested for his seat.
In school races, newcomer Jeremy McGowan is running unopposed for the At-Large School Committee seat. Also unopposed are incumbent Noreen Poitras for the Ward 3 seat and Mary Hall for the Ward 4 seat.
Neither Suzanne Joyce, the current At-Large committee member and chairman, nor Michael Popovic, the vice chairman and Ward 4 committee, decided to run again.
Voters will also weigh in on a municipal referendum that looks to change the ward clerk and Warden positions from an elected three-year term, to an appointed single-year term.
“It’s been hard to get people to serve in the position of warden and ward clerk, and three years is a long time for people to commit to,” City Clerk Angela Holmes said.
With a number of contested seats, this race has not been without its hiccups.
Earlier this month, Sanphy accused the Democratic party of rigging the caucus dates to support certain candidates. Sanphy criticized the caucuses overall as well, noting that the turnout is a fraction of registered Democrats.
Sanphy, running as a Democrat, lost the nomination at the previous two caucuses, in 2016 to current candidate Shaughnessy and in 2019 to Foley.
Following the caucus, Ward 1 nominee Maria Huntress withdrew her nomination to fill in for Rielly, who stepped down before his term ended. Huntress withdrew the day the City Council was to vote on her appointment. An official position paper in the packet for that council meeting opposed her appointment. Huntress said she withdrew to spend more time with her family.
Foley was critical of the administration for opposing Huntress’ appoinment. Morse was later nominated at another special caucus and eventually appointed to City Council.
In a move that has confused many, Spiller officially endorsed Sanphy, his opponent. The two candidates are a part of “Team Westbrook,” a bipartisan group of candidates that campaigns together. The team consists of McWilliams, Shangraw, Willette, Sanphy and Spiller. Besides Sanphy and Spiller, none of the other candidates are directly competing with each other.
Former Mayor Colleen Hilton has accused Spiller of using a false endorsement from her in his campaign handouts. Hilton has officially endorsed Foley for mayor. Spiller has apologized for use of the Hilton’s quote, which she said she sent him years ago and was never an official endorsement. Spiller has said he will remove Hilton’s quote from his cards.
Absentee ballots are available now through Thursday, Oct. 31, at the City Clerk’s Office. After, absentee ballots are given only with special exception. Absentee ballots are due at the City Clerk’s Office by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
All residents, regardless of ward, will cast their votes Nov. 5 at the Community Center from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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