BRATTLEBORO — It will be a very different Selectboard in Brattleboro.
After one of the most competitive races in some time, Kate O'Connor defeated Ben “Spoon” Agave, 985-664, for a three-year seat on the Selectboard.
Two veterans of town government took the two open one-year seats. Former Selectboard member John Allen was the top vote-getter with 710, followed by Town School Board member David Schoales, with 580 votes.
Schoales just edged out Ian Kiehle, who got 564 votes, and Donna Macomber, who had 534. Trailing the field were newcomers Phil Kramer, with 334 votes, and David Cadran, with 256.
The closest race on the ballot was for Town Moderator, as Lawrin Crispe edged Douglas Cox, 779 to 761.
Schoales also won re-election to a one-year term on the Town School Board with 1,165 votes. Mark Truhan won the other one-year seat with 1,038 votes.
Jill Stahl Tyler was unopposed for a three-year term on the Town School Board with 1,240 votes.
Turnout for the election was an anemic 21 percent. According to Town Clerk Annette Cappy, only 1,700 of the town's 8,253 registered voters cast ballots.
After the count, Agave said he was “bummed,” but he been through tough losses before. He will continue on as a Town Meeting member and as a member of the Finance Committee.
Kiehle said he was still thinking about whether he'd seek a recount. This was his second try at the Selectboard and he said that he was OK with the result whether he won or lost.
Schoales, Allen, and O'Connor spent a large chunk of the day greeting voters in front of Brattleboro Union High School.
For O'Connor, it was a family effort as her mother, former Selectboard member Martha O'Connor, joined in the sign-waving while her father, outgoing Town Moderator Tim O'Connor, sat near the front door of the BUHS gym, keeping track of who voted.
“I don't know what he's going to do next year without an election to follow,” said Martha O'Connor of her husband, who stepped down as moderator after more than two decades in the job.
For Kate, it was a nervous day. In August, she narrowly lost to Tristan Toleno in a race for District 3 state representative. But she was relieved at the outcome of Tuesday's race, as her family and supporters celebrated at Sportsman's Lounge on Canal Street after the results were announced.
O'Connor, Allen, and Schoales won't take their seats on the board immediately. A change to the Town Charter in 2012 means that outgoing Selectboard members Dick DeGray, Dora Bouboulis, and Chris Chapman will not officially leave the board until after the annual Representative Town Meeting on March 23.
The new board members will be sworn in on Monday, March 25.