Copyright keenesentinel
Keene returned its mayor to office, reelected several incumbent city councilors and welcomed some newcomers to the panel during Tuesday’s municipal elections. They also shot down allowing keno and social districts in the Elm City. Eleven of 15 council seats were up for grabs this municipal election, as was Keene’s corner office. Election officials for each ward were also elected. Here’s who won for mayor and City Council, according to unofficial results: Contested races Mayor: Incumbent Jay Kahn defeated Bradford Hutchinson by a wide margin for the two-year mayoral term. Final results were not available Tuesday night. City Council, Ward 3: Molly Ellis defeated John Schmitt, 555-71. The term is four years. City Council, Ward 5: Incumbent Phil Jones defeated Shane Brown, 472-224. The term is four years. City Council, at-large: The top five vote-getters in the eight-way race to represent all of Keene for the next two years were incumbent Randy Filiault (2,130 votes), current Ward 2 Councilor Mitch Greenwald (1,943 votes), incumbent Bettina Chadbourne (1,807 votes), Michele Chalice (1,864 votes), and Laura Ruttle-Miller (1,704 votes). Candidates Robert Johnson, Steven W. Lindsey and Sam Jackson finished out of the running. Uncontested races: City Council, Ward 1: City Councilors Jacob Favolise and Kris Roberts will continue representing Ward 1. Roberts was reelected Tuesday to a four-year term. Favolise was elected to finish the the final two years of a four-year term he took over from Raleigh Ormerod when he resigned in 2024. City Council, Ward 2: City Councilor Ed Haas, who previously held an at-large seat, won a term representing Ward 2. The term is four years. City Council, Ward 4: City Councilor Catt Workman was reelected to serve Ward 4. The term is four years. Ballot questions: In what was a third attempt since 2017 to allow keno in Keene, voters opted to prohibit the game in a 2,191-1,009 vote. Unlike the previous two votes prohibiting the lottery game from coming to the city, voters this time had to vote “yes” to opt-out. For municipalities that didn’t vote to opt out during their elections on Tuesday, keno will automatically be allowed in 2027 because of a recent change to state law. Social districts also failed in an 1,967-1,158 vote. Areas of city property where people could carry an open container of alcohol that they purchase from a participating business are considered “social districts,” and become allowed in New Hampshire communities that want them under a new state law. These election results represent the unofficial tallies available from the city of Keene before The Sentinel’s press deadline Tuesday night. For official results, and articles about the races, see www.keenesentinel.com and Thursday’s print edition. Editor’s note: At-large candidate Robert Johnson is a multimedia account executive in The Sentinel’s advertising department. He is not involved in the newsroom, nor in the reporting, editing or decision-making related to Sentinel news coverage.
