Gardiner voters reshuffle City Council
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BY CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 11/04/2009

GARDINER -- Voters on Tuesday picked three new faces and one familiar one to sit on the City Council.

Phil Hart, the lone incumbent in the field of nine candidates, earned re-election over Kevin Sullivan in District 4, earning 426 votes to Sullivan's 219.

Chris Leake was picked over Diane O'Hara by a 265-to-243 count to represent District 1.

Lisa Liberatore, who earned 281 votes, was tapped to represent District 2 over Phil Barter, who earned 268 votes.

Greg Thompson's 242 votes was enough to fend off Clare Marron, who had 203 votes, and Robert Brown's 159 votes, in a three-way District 3 race.

Marc Cone, who earned 1,129 votes, and Eric Jermyn, who got 1,125, were picked to represent the town on the Regional School Unit 11 board. Raymond Morang came in a close third with 1,077 votes.

All results are unofficial.

Hart, who has been on the board for 20 years, said his reason for running again is the same every time his term is up: "to balance out the council."

He is 55 and a warehouse receiver for Associated Grocers.

"We really need balance between professionals, business people and the common day person, and I really feel I'm a blue-collar worker," Hart said.

Leake, 34, a call center supervisor for FairPoint Communications, said parenthood informed his decision to run for the District 1 seat.

"A lot of important decisions are going to be made now that will impact my child's future growing up in Gardiner," he said.

Liberatore, 28, owns an online coffee-and-tea company and is the promotion chairwoman and a board member of Gardiner Main Street.

"I'm running because there's no age or gender diversity currently on the council, and I think it's important to bring in young people with fresh ideas," she said.

Thompson, 36, a Central Maine Power Co. safety specialist, said "One of my goals is to try and get the community involved. That's my big thing."

Craig Crosby -- 623-3811, ext. 433

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

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