Stetson special election spurs more turmoil

STETSON – Friday’s special election to fill the selectman’s seat left vacant after June’s mass resignations is not expected to bring immediate resolution to town government turmoil.

Former Selectman Don Carroll won Friday’s special election as a write-in, earning 12 more votes than candidate Wayne Allard. When the tallies were revealed, Allard informed selectmen he was going to contest the election.

“I can’t imagine that 170-some-odd people voted this guy [Carroll] out a few months ago and now 120-something voted this guy [back] in,” Allard said in a telephone interview Saturday. “It’s just too strange.”

Carroll received 122 votes, Allard 110 and Sydney Beem 60.

During annual elections in May, Carroll’s 15-year reign as a selectman came to a halt when residents voted in newcomer David Buchstaber. By not re-electing Carroll in May, some residents have said, the town was seeking a change, but Allard said Carroll’s election as a write-in makes him wonder what the town wants.

“Don was touched because he was approached by a number of people within the last two to three weeks to see if he would accept [being] a write-in candidate because there was concern [about the town],” former fellow Selectman Martin Hipsky said Saturday.

“Nobody has the experience he has, or the knowledge. I’m very pleased we’re going to have him back, and I think it’s a big first step in settling down apprehension that some of the feelings have stirred up.”

Hipsky acted as Carroll’s representative at the ballot counting, since the newly elected selectman was out of the country Friday night and unavailable for comment.

In Carroll’s last meeting as a selectman, in June, 10 town employees and committee members resigned, many citing alleged accusatory and disrespectful comments by Selectmen George Hockstadter and Buchstaber. Among those who resigned were Hipsky and Town Clerk Dennell Ham, who said that they could not work with the new selectmen. Friday’s election filled Hipsky’s vacant position.

“The fact is, I will remain the head selectman, [and] in a sense Don is going to get a taste of his own medicine,” Buchstaber said, referring to the many years Carroll acted as first selectman. “He made all the decisions; that’s not the case anymore. That’s not going to be the case.”

The ballot box was sealed after Allard announced he would contest the election, and Penobscot County sheriff’s Deputy Josh Tibbetts collected the box, taking it to the sheriff’s office for the weekend, Buchstaber said. The town intends to consult with the Secretary of State’s Office, he said.

Although not at the ballot counting, Allard said he was told many of the write-in votes were incomplete, since most people did not include Carroll’s residence.

Also on the special ballot:

. Residents voted 199-119 in favor of turning the selectmen board from a three-person to a five-person panel.

. By 219-124, residents authorized selectmen to proceed with building a sand-salt shed on the Cross Road.

. Voters rejected a referendum, 180-135, to sell the town-acquired waterfront property of Pleasant Lake located at the end of the Bus Road.