Conservatives picked up an additional seat on the Augusta City Council election on Tuesday after a newcomer defeated the incumbent in one of the city’s two at-large council seats up for re-election.
Augusta residents had three council seats to vote on: the Ward 3 seat currently held by Michael Michaud and two at-large seats held by William Savage and Stephanie Sienkiewicz. All three incumbents ran for re-election.
The Augusta Democrats urged voters to re-elect both Savage and Sienkiewicz.
Voters were offered a list of four candidates to choose from in the at-large race and were asked to pick two, including the incumbents and two newcomers, Wyatt Beaulieu and Joshua Lilley.
Sienkiewicz secured her seat without difficulty, drawing the highest number of votes at 2,378. Savage was not so lucky; he finished in last place with just 1,818 votes.
Lilley came in second place with 2,267 votes and will be taking Savage’s seat.
“To everyone who placed a sign in your yard, answered the knock on your door, or simply shared words of encouragement, thank you. Along this journey, I’ve met so many wonderful people who care deeply about Augusta’s future. I promise that I will show up and go to work for you. Your trust and your vote mean the world to me, and I can’t wait to get to started,” said Lilley on Facebook.
Lilley campaigned on increasing public safety, more efficient spending of city resources, attracting more people and businesses to the city, and expanding housing opportunities.
Although he did not make his political affiliations explicit in his campaigning, Lilley ran to unseat two Democrat-endorsed candidates, and he appears on the basis of his message and associations to be more conservative-leaning.
In Ward 3, the incumbent Michaud won with 58 percent of the vote against newcomer Amanda Heath.
Heath drew an endorsement from the Augusta Democrats and has made posts mocking the failed Question 1 referendum to implement voter ID requirements.
Michaud previously ran as a Republican for the Maine House, though his campaign was not ultimately successful.
While conservative-leaning candidates performed well in Augusta’s city council election, liberal candidates dominated the school board, retaining two liberal-held seats and winning a third previously held by a conservative.
Augusta voters also chose, in a 3,409-1,543 vote, to approve a local ballot question asking to borrow $5,395,479 for a variety of municipal improvements.
