BAR HARBOR, Maine — Two incumbents fended off four challengers in Bar Harbor’s Town Council elections on Tuesday, easily outpacing the competition.
Joe Minutolo led all candidates with 743 votes, while Gary Friedmann received 648.
Local business owner Nina St. Germain fell short with 582 votes in the six-way race for two council seats. Restaurateur Michael Boland received 488 votes and former police chief Nathan Young received 354. Charles Sidman, the chief proponent of Bar Harbor’s controversial new cruise ship limits that voters approved in 2022, received 248 votes.
St. Germain and Boland were running for council for the first time, while Young and Sidman have run before. Friedmann, who also won an uncontested Democratic primary for Maine House District 14, has served on the council since 2012. Minutolo was first elected to the council in 2018.
Friedmann and Minutolo also each were re-elected in 2021 in a five-way race for two council seats.
In another contested race, five people were elected to the town’s warrant committee, which independently reviews and makes recommendations on warrant articles at Bar Harbor’s annual town meeting. Brooke Blomquist, Steven Boucher Jr., Barbara Dunphey, Meagan Kelly and Bailey Stillman were elected to the committee, each with 700 or more votes. Gary “Bo” Jennings fell short in the warrant committee race, receiving 566 votes.
Voters also approved all four proposed land use zoning amendments.
There were 1,614 votes cast for a turnout of 31 percent of the town’s 5,202 registered voters. Last June, the voter turnout was 30.7 percent with 1,555 casting ballots.
The Bar Harbor Story contributed to this report. To receive regular coverage from the Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free subscription here.