LEWISTON — Among the voters who did not turn out for the May 10 school budget referendum were four of 16 elected city officials.

The $69 million budget was rejected by six votes: 373-367. Of Lewiston’s 25,000 registered voters, 740, or 2.8 percent, cast ballots.

According to city voting records, Ward 2 School Committee member Paul St. Pierre and City Councilors Timothy Lajoie, Joline Landry Beam and Michael Lachance did not vote.

Each had a different reason.

“My wife and I were in Florida,” St. Pierre said. They made plans for the trip months in advance. 

He said he didn’t realize he could have voted absentee before they left. “I didn’t check. I should have,” he said.

This is the first time he has not voted during a school budget referendum, St. Pierre said. “Honestly, I thought it would pass.”

Ward 2 Councilor Timothy Lajoie said he intended to vote, but at the last minute had to leave town on a personal matter: his daughter was having a baby.

Ward 6 Councilor Joline Landry Beam, a retired teacher, said she too planned to vote. “I supported that budget.” But, “I was sick that day. I had a busy day and was sick on top of it. I couldn’t do it.”

When she found out the budget was rejected by six votes, “I said ‘Oh my gosh.’ I felt terrible. I’m glad it was six votes and not one.”

Ward 7 Councilor Michael Lachance said he intended to vote but ran out of time that day. He had to leave for Augusta before the polls opened at 7 a.m. and was there all day. Afterward he had to attend a meeting that didn’t end until after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

His vote would not have changed the outcome, he said, but “I did plan on voting.” When he learned the budget was rejected, “I was bummed out. We went through all that work,” he said. Elected officials did a “valiant” job presenting a budget to voters, he said. “I didn’t want to see this.”

The day after the budget referendum, some residents said they forgot or were busy. Several said holding the election on a day when people are used to voting would be better.

That is being done: a second budget will be sent to voters June 14, the state primary election day.

As School Committee members debated Monday what budget to send to voters, they talked about improving communication, budget cuts and the disappointing vote.

It’s important to take a close at the budget, said Councilor Kristen Cloutier, who also serves on the School Committee. But it’s also important to keep in mind how few people voted, she said.

Committee Chairwoman Linda Scott agreed. Those who voted no “were telling us we need to look closer” at spending. But that 740 people out of 25,000 registered voters voted “is disgraceful,” she said.

Since she was 18, she has not missed a vote, Scott said. “My husband was in the emergency room all day Tuesday and I left to vote. It has nothing to do with me being the chair of the school board.”

It has to do with her belief that Lewiston schools and the school budget are important to every child in the city, Scott said. “Everybody needs to get out there and vote.”

When she made those comments Monday, the public was not aware that some city officials did not vote.

Voting records are sealed for five days after an election, but are public information after that, according to City Clerk Kathy Montejo.

The records show who voted, not how.

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