Linda Gifford wins Brooksville select board; GSA tuition referendum passes, incumbents reelected

Linda Gifford won Brooksville’s select board race with 204 votes to Shawn Duffy’s 91, a 69 percent share of the ballots cast in that contest, and will serve a three-year term. The victory capped the town’s first contested select board race in nearly 40 years and came as voters also approved a supplemental tuition referendum for George Stevens Academy, 197 to 108.

Gifford, a newcomer to elective office, said, "I feel good about the results," and added, "I'm humbled and pleased that people had confidence in me and I thank them, and I hope to earn the respect and trust of those who didn't vote for me." Town clerk Amber Bakeman, who was re-elected with 306 votes, noted turnout edged up and said, "I'm sure there was a better turnout due to the select board race."

Reported turnout figures vary slightly: one set of returns lists roughly 306 ballots cast while another report gives 309 total ballots. Individual race totals likewise differ across the ballot: the select board tally summed to 295 votes, while other contested and uncontested offices produced totals in the high 200s, including Freida Peasley for treasurer at 298 and Amber Bakeman for town clerk at 306.

The George Stevens Academy supplemental tuition measure passed 197-108. One report states the town will provide an additional $24,480 total, described as $1,530 per student for 14 of Brooksville’s 24 high school students who attend GSA; another report rounded the total to $25,000. The per-student figure multiplied by 14 equals $21,420, which does not match the $24,480 total listed, an arithmetic inconsistency in published tallies that town records should clarify for the coming school year.

School board voters returned two incumbents to three-year seats: Samuel Vaughan, listed by one source at 264 votes (surname also appears spelled Vaughn in other tallies), and Ann Silver with 241 votes. Write-in totals showed Lindsay Macdonald (also reported as MacDonald) with 23 votes and Meaghan Allen with 18 votes.

Several other incumbents were reelected: planning board incumbents Darcy Snow with 280 votes and Philip Wessel with 272 votes; fire chief Matthew Dow with 294 votes; tax collector Yvonne Redman with 294 votes; and budget and advisory committee members Matthew Freedman with 287 votes and John Kimball with 277 votes. Term lengths reported include one-year terms for the town’s officers such as treasurer and tax collector, and three-year terms for the select board, school board seats, and budget and advisory committee seats.

The March 2 municipal balloting produced a decisive local shift in engagement, with contested races and a school funding question driving turnout. Brooksville officials, led by town clerk Amber Bakeman, will be the source for certified returns and the official warrant language that will resolve the remaining name-spelling and arithmetic questions and set the town’s implementation of the approved GSA supplemental tuition for the next school year.