LAKES REGION – Similar to their state counterparts, voters in the Lakes Region on Tuesday failed to turn out in substantial numbers for statewide primary and local referendums. Those who did vote sent conflicting messages regarding local spending.

In Windham-Raymond, voters overwhelmingly approved the $28 million school budget, despite hefty projected tax increases in Raymond. But Standish voters closed their checkbooks when it came to three municipal capital improvement projects.

Local issues included an animal noise ordinance in Raymond, school budget validations and a handful of races for boards of selectmen and school board.

Local voters also reflected statewide trends, with Democrat Cynthia Dill and Republican Charlie Summers winning by similar margins in Lakes Region towns in their bid to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Olympia Snowe.

Windham-Raymond

Windham voters only had one local referendum to consider Tuesday, approving the Regional School Unit 14 budget by more than a 2-1 margin, 823-379. (Windham’s local races take place in November.)

Raymond voters, on the other hand, had a full slate, with the animal noise ordinance failing 324-302, and several contested races.

Former Selectman Dana Desjardins defeated Raymond’s former fire chief, Denis Morse, 294-279, for a two-year term on the Raymond Budget/Finance Committee.

Diana Froisland defeated Amy Bearce, 244-235, for a three-year term on the RSU 14 School Board.

Joe Bruno was re-elected to the Board of Selectmen with 515 votes. He was running uncontested.

The voters also approved the RSU 14 budget, 399-240, despite the budget likely to increase Raymond property tax bills of 8 percent, or about a $1 per $1,000 of property valuation.

Bucking the statewide trend that saw Charlie Summers gain the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, Republicans in Raymond voted for Bruce Poliquin (86 votes) to Summers’ 80 votes.

Standish

The 1,029 Standish residents who showed up to vote faced multiple referendums and races on Tuesday, although several seats on the town’s Planning Board, Budget Committee and School Administrative District 6 board went unfilled due to lack of candidates.

Voters re-elected the uncontested and long-serving Phil Pomerleau to the Town Council. In the town’s only contested race, incumbent Margaret Spencer defeated William Orr, 540-373, to regain her seat on the council.

In the uncontested races, Diana Allen and Alta Harding were elected to the Planning Board, Todd Delaney was elected to the school board, and Katherine Post was elected to the budget committee.

Voters in Standish weren’t in the mood for spending taxpayer money on Tuesday, as the three referendums seeking voter approval for expenditure of funds were all rejected. Together, the three initiatives would have cost about $1 million in principal and interest.

Question 1, which sought a $170,000 expansion to the public works garage, failed 502-447.

Despite the promise of 80 percent of matching funds from the state, Question 2, seeking $104,000 for sidewalks along Route 25, failed 532-417.

And Question 3, which would have paid for the $486,000 realignment of the Oak Hill Road intersection with Route 25, failed 571-382.

On the school side, three of five towns in School Administrative District 6 rejected the proposed $42.6 million school budget, which passed unofficially overall by a slim margin 1,553-1,440.

Voters in Buxton, Limington and Frye Island defeated the proposed budget while Standish in unofficial figures approved it by a scant two votes, 501-499. Hollis also approved it, 394-257.

Sandi Severn receives her ballot Tuesday morning from Raymond clerks, from left, Kim Tees, Martha Morrison, Ann Richards and Diane Mathieu.