Months of polarizing political turmoil came to a head at the ballot box Thursday, as Ogunquit voters narrowly supported three members of the Select Board, voting not to recall Chairman Charles “Bunky” Waite, Madeline Mooney and Bob Winn.
Waite will remain in office by just 28 votes in the attempted recall, with 358 votes in favor of recalling the board chair, to 386 against. Voters decided not to recall Madeline Mooney by a vote of 384 to 360. Winn was supported by the widest margin, with 412 voting not to recall him, and 330 in favor.
Waite, along with his supporters, was visibly relieved when the results were announced shortly after polls closed Thursday night.
[Subscribe to our free morning newsletter and get the latest headlines in your inbox]
“I am certainly relieved, and I feel relief for the town that this is over,” he said. “All of the recent elections in this town have been close. We are a town divided. We have to realize going forward that we have to work together. Working apart has cost us, we all can’t fight and bicker. We have to sit down and decide what we need to do, and how we are going to get there.”
Those who initiated the recall were disappointed in the outcome of the election, but were proud that they accomplished the goal of giving the townspeople the voice to vote.
“I’m proud of our group for fighting for what we believed in for our town,” Lauren Fogarty said.
[Summer tourists are returning to find this Maine beach town bitterly divided]
The group who supported the three board members feel the results of the vote show that townspeople are happy with Town Manager Pat Finnigan and the work she and the board are doing.
“I feel a great sense of relief. It was deeply troubling that people who took their jobs seriously as Select Board members — that there was an attempted recall for people who were really actually doing their job. I hope this is a decisive comment that we aren’t going backward. We are moving forward with true professionalism,” Patience Sundaresan said.
The group seeking the recall claimed there have been a number of problems in town, but the final straw was last year’s firing of the town’s fire chief, Mark O’Brien.
[Judge rules Ogunquit recall vote can proceed]
O’Brien was put on paid leave in June 2018 and then terminated in September. O’Brien said he was given no reason for the firing.
The town manager said he was fired because of concerns from other firefighters who said he yelled at his employees and talked down to officials.