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BRIAN TEDDER

Yuri Friman, left, of Amherst, shakes hands with Aaron Hayden after it was announced at Rafters that Hayden had been elected to the Amherst Select Board.

AMHERST - Former Planning Board Chairman Aaron Hayden easily outdistanced three challengers to claim a seat on the Amherst Select Board at Tuesday's town elections.

With an unofficial 4,152 votes cast in his favor, Hayden more than doubled the vote totals of the other three contestants, with Vladimir Morales running second with 2,491 votes, David Keenan in third with 812 votes and Calvin Brower trailing with 276 votes.

Hayden, celebrating his win at Rafters restaurant, thanked his supporters and his campaign team, pledging to bring integrity to the Select Board and an ability to listen to all residents.

"I want to make it effective, make service to the town attractive and tackle the big issues in front of us fairly," Hayden said.

Hayden will replace Anne Awad, who resigned in August, and will serve until next spring's annual elections, at which time he will have to run again for the full term.

Morales congratulated Hayden on his win. "I wish Aaron the best. I hope he does the best he can do for the town, as another voice on the Select Board," Morales said.

But Morales said he intends to compete for the position again next spring as a voice for those who are left out of the local political process. "I will be a candidate for the three-year term after the election," Morales said.

Hayden and Morales were the only contestants who put out lawn signs, created campaign Web sites and formed campaign committees. Both expect to keep these active.

Compared with Hayden and Morales, both Keenan, who is a perennial contestant for the Select Board, and Brower, in his first effort at townwide office, did less formal campaigning.

Keenan said he was not surprised by the results of the race, noting that he didn't spend money on what he terms "the hoopla" or participate in the personal politics that included Hayden supporters disseminating information on the attendance record of Morales at School Committee meetings.

"An enormous amount of money was spent and power was played for a four-month seat," Keenan said.

CPA ballot measure

Meanwhile, a ballot question to increase the surcharge for the Community Preservation Act from 1.5 percent to 3 percent narrowly failed, with 5,294 against and 5,122 in support. The nearly even split reflected the 2-2 divide on the Select Board on the issue.

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess said there were some minor glitches during the day, but most of the polling at Amherst's 10 precincts went well, despite sometimes long lines.