Ethan Lawrence was elected to the Essex Selectboard Tuesday, fending off a write-in challenge from Brian Shelden by a margin of about 475 votes.
Lawrence, who is a farmer in town, received 2,981 votes.
Shelden, who is the chair of the Essex Democrats and a former candidate for the Vermont House of Representatives, got 2,507 write-in votes.
“I can’t wait to get to work for Essex,” Lawrence said in a phone call Tuesday night. “And we’ve got a lot on our plate for this next year.”
Although he’s been elected to a three-year seat, Lawrence will serve for only one year, since two years of the term have already been served by other people. If he chooses to run again, he would be up for reelection next year.
The race between Lawrence and Shelden had inflamed debate in this Chittenden County community on top of politically charged issues such as a local mask mandate and the possible separation of the Village of Essex Junction.
Lawrence had been accused of making “bullying” comments and spreading misinformation online about Covid-19, characterizations that he has disputed.
Lawrence said Tuesday night he felt he had run “a good grassroots campaign.”
Essex voters on Tuesday also elected two more candidates to the Selectboard: Dawn Hill-Fleury (4,280 votes), who is an incumbent, and Kendall Chamberlin (3,250 votes).
Hill-Fleury and Chamberlin will serve three-year terms.
The losing candidate for a three-year term, Andrew Champagne, received 1,890 votes.
