Hillsborough voters welcomed two incumbents and one newcomer to the Town Board.

Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd returns for her seventh term in office. Commissioner Brian Lowen returns for his fifth. Lloyd received 618 votes; Lowen 611.

Eric Hallman opted not to run for re-election, paving the way for Mark Bell to take his place, beating out challengers Ashley DeSena and Cindy Talisman. Bell received 602 votes. DeSena received 167 votes and Talisman received 116 votes.

Bell has served on the town’s Historic District Commission and on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough.

Historic preservation played a surprisingly prominent role in Hillsborough’s municipal election, as town leaders wrestled with how to preserve the crumbling Colonial Inn, and what to do about the words “Confederate Memorial” on the Orange County Historical Museum.

The incumbents and Bell supported the town board’s decision to begin the process of seizing the 176-year-old Inn via eminent domain. They also backed a plan to remove the lettering from the museum and put up a historical marker instead.

Both DeSena and Talisman rejected these proposals. They also challenged the board’s vision for growth in Hillsborough, and criticized the town’s Unified Development Ordinance.

In the mayor’s race, incumbent Tom Stevens ran unopposed, locking in his sixth term with 677 votes.

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