By Matt Simonette

Staff writer

Three incumbent commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District were able to retain their seats for another term after Tuesday’s election.

Commissioners Frank Avila and Cynthia Santos respectively captured 17.1 percent and 15.5 percent of the vote, while Commission Vice President Kathleen Therese Meany brought in 15.3 percent.

Historically, positions on the MWRD Commission were generally political appointments, but in recent years the posts have been the objects of aggressive political campaigns.

Among the challengers who lost the election were attorneys Mariyana T. Spyropoulos and Dean T. Maragos. Each candidate said they would bring an air of transparency to the agency, which employs 2,300 people and has a budget of close to $1.4 billion. They both also said they would follow Comm. Debra Shore’s lead in making the agency more environmentally sensitive.