CAPE ELIZABETH — Penny Jordan will fill a vacant seat on the Town Council after receiving 59 percent of the vote in a special election Tuesday.
Jordan defeated Jim Walsh, 569-400.
In an uncontested race for an open Portland Water District Board of Trustees seat representing Cape Elizabeth and South Portland, Mark Duval of Cape Elizabeth received 792 votes. Total turnout Tuesday was 972, or 12 percent of voters.
Duval received 81 votes in South Portland, where total turnout was 83. The Water District seat, which expires in November, was the only item on the ballot in South Portland, where there were two votes for write-in candidates.
Jordan was scheduled to take her seat Wednesday at a special Town Council meeting, but that meeting was canceled because of the weather. Her first regular Town Council meeting will be on Feb. 9.
The seat was vacated by Mary Ann Lynch last October. Jordan will complete the unexpired portion of Lynch’s term, with runs through December 2010.
Jordan, co-owner of William H. Jordan Farm, said she’s ready to “dive in and figure out how to get caught up on everything,” especially issues surrounding the municipal budget, which is facing a $500,000 shortfall going into next year.
Walsh said Wednesday that he was disappointed by the small turnout on Tuesday.
“In a town with 8,000 voters, this was not the turnout we expected,” he said. He added that running against Jordan, a fourth-generation Cape resident, was an “uphill battle.”
Walsh, who has lived in town for 21 years and is married to a teacher and former School Board member, campaigned on his background in education and business.

Town Council candidates Penny Jordan, left, and Jim Walsh greet voter Andy Kosinski at Cape Elizabeth High School on Tuesday. Jordan won the special election to fill a vacant council seat.

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