Wrigley and Roderick win seats on Oakland council; Tracy re-elected to school board

OAKLAND — Dana Wrigley Sr. was re-elected to the City Council on Tuesday, with resident Kelly Roderick winning the other seat in a three-way race.

Dana Wrigley Sr.

Incumbent Laura Tracy was re-elected to the Oakland Regional School Unit 18 board of directors in a three-way race in which she was challenged by two newcomers. Tracy is the president of the school council.

Wrigley, 83, a former Central Maine Power Co. employee, was re-elected to the board with 1,680 votes, while Roderick received 1,734 votes. They defeated political newcomer Sean Michael Nava, 58, by 1,284 votes.

Roderick, 60, a security guard at the Colby College Art Museum, will fill the seat vacated by Don Borman, who served on the board for nearly a decade and decided not to run for re-election.

Kelly Roderick

Council members are paid $30 per meeting, of which there are about 29 per year.

“I want to thank all of my family, friends and supporters for believing in me over the years in my efforts to represent them as a council member in Oakland,” Roderick said Wednesday. “I hope that together we can voice our opinions on the upcoming issues. The biggest battle ahead is working on the other side of the table during budget season to ask the hard questions and get clear answers about how our tax dollars are spent.”

Roderick said she plans to listen first and then gather information and details, and work with budget members and consultants to know she’s doing what citizens need. She said she hopes residents will be proud of their decision to elect her and be their voice. She said she would also like to congratulate Wrigley on her victory and wish Nava to continue to participate, listen and ask questions.

Laura Tracy

Wrigley and Tracy were not available for comment Wednesday morning.

Wrigley, who served on the City Council for 18 years, said last month that he was running for re-election to help the city continue to grow and provide residents with the services they need at a price they can afford.

Roderick, who serves on the city’s Budget Advisory Committee, said she is running to ensure all residents are represented and allow their voices to be heard.

In the RSU 18 school board race, Tracy received 1,437 votes, defeating challengers Mary Denise Ferguson, who received 666 votes, and Lori Shive, who received 1,086 votes.

Tracy is the director of primary care at Maine Medical Center.

RSU 18 has students from Auckland, Sydney, Belgrade, Rome and China, and its board members earn $10 per school board meeting.

Tracy served on the school board for nearly 24 years, including about 10 as chair. She said last month that her biggest motivation in running for re-election was to continue to support all students in the district.