Published on November 04, 2003
By a margin of more than 2 to 1, Cape Elizabeth voters Tuesday (Nov. 4, 2003) overwhelmingly approved bond issues for building renovations and improvements to Cape Elizabeth High School; and to build a new wing for Pond Cove Elementary School for kindergarten students.
They also elected Katharine Ray and Richard West to the Cape Elizabeth School Board.
It was a long day and night for Town election officials and volunteers as they handled a steady of stream of voters throughout Election Day. Waits of up to one hour were reported for voters to submit each of the three ballots -- local, state and county -- into the vote-counting machine.
At days end 4,900 voters had passed through the polls at Cape Elizabeth High School, a turnout of 62 percent.
Cape Elizabeth voters also voted for a new Cumberland County charter, and overwhelmingly picked Town Councilor John McGinty, seconded by South Portland's Nancy Larsen, as their choices to sit on a new County Charter Committee.
On the state ballot, voters were equally vocal against initiatives asking for a Maine resort casino and for slot machines at race tracks. Voters in Cape Elizabeth were more evenly divided, however, on the citizen initiative for property tax relief. Roughly a third of those voting chose the citizen initiative to have the state fund 55 percent of local education costs; one third voted for a competing tax-relief measure proposed by the Legislature; and, one third voted for neither.
Here are the results of Cape's voting:
|
School Board (vote for two) |
Votes |
|
Michals, Mary H. |
1344 |
|
Ray, Katharine N. |
2527 |
|
West, Richard L. |
2166 |
|
Winchell, Robert L. |
939 |
| Local Referendum | Yes | No |
| Improvements and Additions to Cape Elizabeth High School ($7.9 million) | 3356 | 1425 |
| Improvements and Additions to the Pond Cove Elementary School ($1.5 million) | 3450 | 1292 |
| Cumberland County Referendum Question | Yes | No |
| Shall a charter commission be established for the purpose of establishing a new county charter? | 2275 | 1871 |
| Charter Commissioners (vote for two) | Votes | |
Babine, Shawn A. Scarborough |
560 | |
Bourke, David M. South Portland |
692 | |
Damicis, James D. Scarborough |
180 | |
Larsen, Nancy L. South Portland |
1564 | |
McGinty, John W. Cape Elizabeth |
3233 | |
Parks, Harold F. Gorham |
159 | |
Reynolds, Robert M. Gorham |
240 | |
| STATE OF MAINE REFERENDUM QUESTIONS | ||
| Question 1: Citizen Initiative and Competing Measure | Votes | |
| 1A Citizen Initiative
Do you want the State to pay 55% of the cost of public education, which includes all special education costs, for the purpose of shifting costs from the property tax to state resources? |
1666 | |
| 1B Competing Measure
Do you want to lower property taxes and avoid the need for a significant increase in state taxes by phasing in a 55% state contribution to the cost of public education and by providing expanded property tax relief? |
1539 | |
| 1C Against A and B
Against both the Citizen Initiative and the Competing Measure. |
1539 | |
| Yes | No | |
| Question 2: Citizen Initiative
Do you want to allow slot machines at certain commercial horse racing tracks if part of the proceeds are used to lower prescription drug costs for the elderly and disabled, and for scholarships to the state universities and technical colleges? |
1944 | 2912 |
| Question 3: Citizen Initiative
Do you want to allow a casino to be run by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation if part of the revenue is used for state education and municipal revenue sharing? |
971 | 3899 |
| Question 4: Bond Issue
Water Quality and Pollution Control ($6.9 million) |
3354 | 1315 |
| Question 5: Bond Issue
Universities and Libraries improvements ($19 million) |
2906 | 1759 |
| Question 6: Bond Issue
Transportation improvements ($63.45 million) |
3400 | 1272 |