Margaret Serpa held on her seat as Edgartown selectman yesterday evening, beating out challenger Bob Fynbo 504-397 votes in the closest contest for selectman in more than 25 years.

A total of 915 voters turned out, 31 per cent of the 2977 registered voters, on one of the first full days of sunshine this year.

Reached yesterday evening, Ms. Serpa was in full celebration mode. “I just had a pizza and a cup of tea,” she said. “I’m very thankful and I appreciate the confidence [voters] have shown in me. I’m back to work on Monday.”

Candidates and their supporters stood canvassing and waving signs outside the Whaling Church for the full nine hours of voting.

Mr. Fynbo, disappointed, was a good sport.

“She won fair and square,” he said, shortly after the polls closed. “Hopefully this campaign put vitality into our government.”

He pledged to continue to press town leaders to make improvements to downtown in time for the tourist season, saying he would have liked to have done more work during the campaign in the areas of energy and affordable housing. He added that he planned to do volunteer work for Habit for Humanity and for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s Island Plan and to run again at some point.

“I’ll probably wait my turn in the rotation,” he said, adding that he hopes his opponent did not take the hard-fought campaign to heart. “Margaret’s done a lot of work and had some fire put under her, but I hope she understands it was nothing personal,” he said.

Ms. Serpa, current chairman of the selectmen, said the campaign has been a learning experience.

“It’s humbling to have to promote yourself, but it’s not a bad thing,” she said, “to look at yourself, to look at some of your qualities and try and improve on them.”

The close result and relatively high turnout are testament to the sustained campaign efforts of both candidates, and to the fact the town has not seen a contested selectmen’s race in a decade.

In the only other contested position Robert Cavallo took Roger Becker’s seat as chairman of the planning board, 481-371. Mr. Becker who has served on the board for the past five years. Mr. Cavallo runs the Edgartown Paint Shoppe.

Voters also approved all of the following four spending questions on the ballot, which were given proposition 2 1/2 override status by the town; $221,000 to fund the dredge program (604-277); $130,000 to repair streets (607-257) and $100,000 for sidewalks (642-220); and $65,000 for the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority, which was approved by a narrower margin, 494-352.

Elected without contest were: Susan Mercier (203 votes), school committee; James K. Carter (719), wastewater treatment commission; Robert L. Burnham (713), water commissioner; Laurence A. Mercier (652) and Donna M. Lowell Bettencourt (636), financial advisory committee; Jane M. Varkonda (693), park commissioner; Jonathan M. Searle (775), constable, Patricia Haynes Rose (655) and Ann M. Tyra (680), library trustees.

Kathleen Case, who missed the candidate filing date, nonetheless secured her seat with 140 write-in votes.

Philip J. Norton Jr., moderator for town meetings, got 787 votes, the biggest vote of the day.