NORTH YARMOUTH — Former selectman Paul Napolitano defeated Austin Harrell by a narrow margin, 765-718, Tuesday in a bid to return to the Select Board, according to unofficial results.

Harrell of Gray Road and Napolitano of Mill Ridge Road, who spent 10 years on the board, ran for the remainder of a term vacated last October by Anne Graham, which expires June 30, 2022.

“I’ll do the best job I can for the residents of the town, and I’m very excited to be back on the board,” Napolitano said Tuesday night.

Owner of Napolitano Excavation, he served three consecutive terms on the Board of Selectmen from 2006-2015, and a one-year term from 2016-2017.

Napolitano, who said he ran because the Select Board needed more members with knowledge of how that panel and the town work, has spent about 50 years in North Yarmouth. Upon a return to the Select Board, he said he would like to increase the eligibility threshold of the town’s senior property tax assistance program. Residents must be 70 or older, with an annual income capped at $40,000 and at least 10 years lived in the town in order to qualify.

Harrell, a civil engineer with Realtime Utility Engineers, moved to North Yarmouth in November 2018, having lived in Vienna, Maine – where he served on the town’s Planning Board – and Portland, as well as Tennessee and Colorado. He saw the Select Board opening as an opportunity to get involved in the community.

“I thought, best case scenario, it would be pretty close, and it turned out that way,” Harrell said Tuesday night. “I obviously wish it had gone the other way, but I’m flattered to have done that well this early on.”

He said he plans to run again this year, with two seats opening up in June.

There were 243 blank ballots, and 1,726 votes cast in all for the local  election, according to Assistant Town Manager Debbie Grover.

Half of North Yarmouth’s 3,427 registered voters turned out for the Presidential Primary election, Grover said.

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