Voters in Aquinnah returned Thomas Murphy to the select board in a close race Thursday.
Mr. Murphy, an attorney who just finished out his first term on the board, won with 129 votes over Jannette Vanderhoop’s 115.
In the leadup to the annual town election, Mr. Murphy said the biggest issue in town is keeping the rising costs down and he campaigned on his experience in town government.
"My decades-long background in the law, and service on governing boards has given me the knowledge and experience required to respond to the variety and complexity of challenges facing our town," he told the Gazette ahead of the election.
This was the first run for office for Ms. Vanderhoop, a professional gardener and artist.
“If I don’t win, I’ll try again," she said Thursday night, before the polls closed. "I’m going to do this, I decided."
The select board seat was the only contested race on the ballot.
Kayla Darcy was elected town clerk. Katherine Newman was reelected to the board of health. Sarah Thulin will be returning to her seat on the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank commission.
Four positions on the ballot had no candidates: a seat on the planning board, two constable positions, a library trustee. But voters elected residents via write-in campaigns. Jim Mahoney was elected to planning board, Chris Manning and Heidi Vanderhoop were voted in as constables, and Elaine Vogel-Vanderhoop was picked to be a library trustee.
Aquinnah residents voted to allow the town to assess an additional $330,000 in personal property and real estate taxes for funding Up-Island and Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School districts department budgets for the coming fiscal year, which begins in July.
Voter Berta Welch thought it was the obvious choice.
“What is the decision? We must educate our youth,” she said. “It shouldn’t be a question, no matter where you live.”
The ballot question passed 153-81.
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