WINDHAM — Former Town Council Chairman David Nadeau resoundingly defeated Councilor Dennis Welch for his at-large seat Nov. 6.

Nadeau received 51 percent of the vote in the three-way race with Welch receiving  28 percent and Charles Hawkins Jr. 22 percent.

The three-way race for two seats on the RSU 14 School Board also ended in an upset with the defeat of incumbent Marjorie Govoni, who has been on the Windham-Raymond board since 2009. Incumbent Dawn Dillon kept a seat and  David Lydon won the other. Dillon received 36 percent of the vote while Lydon received 33 and Govoni 31.

Welch has been on the council since 2011 and said earlier this year that he intended for this to be his last bid for council.

Nadeau was on the council from 2011 to 2017 and served as chairman from 2014 to 2015. He lost re-election to the council’s East District seat last fall to current Councilor Rebecca Cummings. Tensions flared on the council in February when members voted 4-2 not to appoint Nadeau to a three-year term on the Planning Board.

Nadeau said Tuesday, “I’m just happy I got elected. I’d like to thank everybody that supported me.”

He added that he would like to focus on “trying to put structure back in place. We need to get things done, and they’re not going to get done knee jerk; they need to be planned for.”

Nadeau said in a past interview with the Lakes Region Weekly that he sees “nothing getting done” on the current council and would like to work on long-term financial planning for the town. “I’ve implemented more things than any sitting councilor. I’d like to go back and try and finish them,” he added.

Nadeau received 3,319 votes while Welch received 1,808 and Hawkins 1,430.

The final votes in the School Board race were 3,009 for Dillon, 2,760 for Lydon and 2,624 for Govoni.

Lydon — who has made three unsuccessful bids for Town Council — said in an earlier interview with the Lakes Region Weekly that he wants to bring his perspective as a parent to the School Board.

Govoni said, “It’s a draw of the cards when you re-run for office. I will just continue on because I’m very involved in the community anyway. I am not going away.”

“I wish David Lydon the best. I’m sure he’ll do a good job,” she added.

Lydon and Dillon will serve on the board at an uncertain time in the Windham-Raymond School District since residents in Raymond voted 171-128 in August to initiate the withdrawal process from RSU 14.

Dillon said she would like to see Raymond stay in the district while Lydon said a Raymond exit could potentially help relieve some of the tensions surrounding Windham’s rapid growth.

District officials are also hopeful that a new or renovated Windham Middle School, funded by the state, could be possible in the coming years.

Welch, Hawkins, Lydon and Dillon could not be reached for comment before the Lake Region Weekly’s print deadline.

Jane Vaughan can be reached at 780-9103 or at jvaughan@keepmecurrent.com.

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