Civic Center bond likely helped Scarborough candidate

SCARBOROUGH — Neil D. Jamieson Jr. will become the first county commissioner representing the new District 1, which includes his hometown of Scarborough.

Jamieson won the three-way race against fellow Scarborough resident Annalee Rosenblatt and Harrison resident Lisa Villa. Jamieson received 6,846 votes to Rosenblatt’s 5,006 and Villa’s 3,355.

“I’m looking forward to jumping right in and getting involved in the process of county government,” Jamieson said Wednesday morning. He’ll take office in January.

Cumberland County residents last year approved the county’s first-ever Charter, which dictates the way the county is organized and governed. They also increased the number of districts, and thus the number of elected county commissioners, from three to five.

In March, the county map was redrawn to accommodate the two new districts, with no existing district keeping its former boundaries. The new District 1 includes Scarborough, Baldwin, Bridgton, Gorham, Harrison, Sebago and Standish.

Jamieson, a trial lawyer, won easily in Scarborough, Standish and Gorham – the three largest towns in the district. All three also approved the $33 million Cumberland County Civic Center renovation bond, which Jamieson supported but both his opponents opposed. The bond passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday night.

He said was his campaign strategy all along was to win in those towns.

“We worked hard and focused on those three towns, so we weren’t really surprised that’s the way the race tilted,” he said.

Jamieson was an elected member of the Cumberland County Charter Commission, former chairman of the Scarborough Democratic Committee, former member of the Maine Bar Association Board of Governors and former president of the Bates College Alumni Association.

Despite placing second overall, Rosenblatt failed to win in any municipality. She said she was counting on the votes of conservatives in the district’s smaller towns, but those votes went to the more well-known local candidate Lisa Villa, who also opposed the bond.

Rosenblatt congratulated Jamieson, who she said ran a strong, smart campaign. But said she had expected to fare better.

“I was surprised at the overwhelming support for the Civic Center,” she said. “Looking at the numbers, that appears to have played a big role in this race.”

Rosenblatt has served on the Scarborough School Board and the Chamber of Commerce, and is the chairwoman of the Scarborough Republican Committee. She said it’s too soon to know what’s next for her, but that this wouldn’t mark the end of her civil service.

“I don’t see my dedication being impacted by this at all,” she said.

Mario Moretto can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or mmorettor@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @riocarmine.

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Neil D. Jamieson Jr.

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