Barre had largest percentage of turnout for primary among 6 towns

Republicans in Barre went to the polls in the largest percentage of the six towns in Orleans County that had primaries.

In Barre, 43.3 percent of registered Republicans voted in person on either Tuesday or through nine days of early voting.

The primary featured two candidates – George McKenna and David Waters – who have shared their concerns about a proposed wind energy project with 33 turbines that would be nearly 700 feet tall. They ran against incumbents Lynn Hill and Tom McCabe, who backed changing the town’s wind energy ordinance to accommodate the project. A state board will ultimately vote on whether the project goes forward. McKenna and Waters are the apparent winners in the primary.

The Barre turnout topped the 36.9 percent in Murray where there is a contentious election for town supervisor, with incumbent Joe Sidonio challenged by Murray Town Councilman Randy Bower, the former Orleans County sheriff. Sidonio holds a 13-vote lead over Murray with absentees to determine the winner next week.

There were primaries for town clerk in Carlton and Ridgeway, a race for town justice in Gaines, and primaries for the Town Board in Ridgeway and Shelby.

Here is the in-person turnout in the six towns.

• Barre: 309 ballots cast out of 713 registered Republicans – 43.3%
• Carlton: 167 ballots cast out of 978 registered Republicans – 17.1%
• Gaines: 194 ballots cast out of 873 registered Republicans – 22.2%
• Murray: 514 ballots cast out of 1,394 registered Republicans – 36.9%
• Ridgeway: 325 ballots cast out of 1,818 registered Republicans – 17.9%
• Shelby: 285 ballots cast out of 1,359 registered Republicans – 21.0%