The budget turmoil that has angered residents for months has attracted a field of nine candidates for four openings on the seven-member Town Council.

Three of the openings are for three-year terms. The seats are currently occupied by Jo-Jean Keller, who is running for reelection, and Normand Albert and Mark Lunt, who are retiring.

The other candidates for the three seats are Charles Turgeon, Gregory Garnett and former councilors Roger Bickford and Eric Metivier.

Turgeon led a petition drive to give residents the power to vote on the municipal budget, just like they do on the school budget.

Another four residents are seeking to fill the fourth seat, for a two-year term, that was vacated by the resignation of Jeremy Barnard in June. The council appointed Chris Hodgkins to fill the opening, but he said at the time of his appointment that he would only serve until the next election in November.

Running for that seat are Diana Rolfe, Joseph Costa, Jean Elizabeth Burkhardt and Dale Crafts.

Crafts formerly served one term on the Town Council. The Lisbon businessman served four terms in the Maine Legislature and was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Congress in 2020, when he lost the 2nd District election to Rep. Jared Golden.

He runs the Renew the American Dream PAC, which sent out mailers to Lisbon residents urging them to reject the school budget, which has failed twice at the polls.

The election is Nov. 4.