WATERBORO — Republican incumbent Sen. David Woodsome will be headed back to Augusta after sailing past his Democrat challenger Andrea Boland, 11,641-7,883 in unofficial totals Tuesday. 

Woodsome, of Waterboro, won six of the seven towns in the district while Boland took Sanford, her hometown. The district also  includes Cornish, Limerick, Newfield, Parsonsfield and Shapleigh, 

This will be Woodsome’s second term.

Reached by telephone on election night, Woodsome said Boland called him to concede.

“Andrea was a great worker and very well organized and she did well,”  he said of his opponent.

Woodsome, who co-chaired the Legislature’s Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology in his first term, said he plans to focus on education funding, jobs, the heroin epidemic and renewable energy.

“My number one concern  is education funding. That needs to  be looked at, reassessed and updated,” he said. “It will need a bipartisan effort and will be just the beginning. The issue of school funding won’t be resolved in a year or two.”

Woodsome said schools need to take a look at how they’re performing.

He said he’s been talking to community college presidents and local businesses and schools about providing more classes for trade and technical endeavors, expanding on what is currently available and he said he’d like to see programs available locally  — at RSU 57 and SAD 55  —beyond what is available at Sanford Regional Technical Center. 

“Business and industry are telling me students are graduating without life and practical skills,” he said.

He said there needs to be local treatment for heroin addicts.

Woodsome said he will also focus on renewable energy.

“We need to think out of the box,” he said. “Its time to move forward with technology.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected]