METHUEN — Voters unseated incumbent School Committeeman George Kazanjian in yesterday's election, but fellow incumbent Kenneth Henrick said he wants to give the seat he won to Kazanjian.

"I beat Kazanjian, who is my buddy, by five votes. He's younger than me and he's a sharp guy. I feel badly," the 70-year-old Henrick said after the election results were released. "I'm shocked. I'm really shocked. I thought he'd do really well."

Kazanjian said Henrick showed up at his Sevoian Drive home and said he would give up the seat to Kazanjian. Kazanjian said he will accept.

"I think he's a tremendous friend," Kazanjian said about Henrick.

Kazanjian said he was surprised by the loss. He finished seventh out of eight contenders for six two-year seats on the board. Kazanjian finished with 3,482 votes while Henrick took 3,487 and the last spot on the School Committee.

"I worked hard. Evidently what I was offering... honest to God, I don't know," Kazanjian said while sitting in his living room with his wife and daughter.

City Councilor Kenneth Willette Jr. topped the ticket and said his showing was a "referendum" about public dissatisfaction with Superintendent Jeanne Whitten.

Of all eight candidates for School Committee, Willette has been Whitten's fiercest critic. He won yesterday's election with 4,119 votes.

"I think it definitely is a referendum on the superintendent. She really needs to communicate better to the residents of Methuen. She needs to be accountable to the School Committee and she needs to be more open with the budget process," said Willette.

Willette is wrapping up his third term as an at-large city councilor. He has to leave the council because of term limits, so he will join the School Committee, on which he served two, two-year terms before joining the City Council.

Come January, a majority of School Committee members will be Whitten critics. They are Willette and incumbents Robert Vogler, Evan Chaisson and Barbara Grondine.

"She lost tonight and she has to focus on the opposition that now represents a majority on the School Committee," Willette said.

Vogler, who placed third with 3,913 votes, called Henrick's move to give his seat to Kazanjian "hilarious."

"You run for an office and you serve if the voter elects you. This isn't a game and it shouldn't be treated as a game," Vogler said. "I've never heard of it in the town."

Vogler has been on the School Committee on and off for 35 years. He said he was "gratified and honored" by last night's results.

Jeri-an Batal, who received 2,984 votes, said she was happy with the number of votes she received, considering it was her first time running for office and she faced "polished politicians."

She said she plans to run again in the next election.

"I'll be back out in two years," she said.

School Committee Vice Chairman Gary Marcoux won his third and final term by receiving 3,766 votes. He's looking forward to working on curriculum, instruction and assessment, he said.

"I want to make sure that we're focused on those areas," he said. "Second to that, I'm looking forward to the new high school. And thirdly, I'm looking forward to working with the new School Committee."

Incumbent Barbara Grondine, who has two decades of experience on the committee, won re-election with 3,939 votes.

"I'm thrilled," Grondine said. "I really appreciate the confidence that the voters put in me."

Evan Chaisson, who at 26 is the youngest member of the committee, won his first re-election bid with 3,763 votes.

"The voters made a good decision today," he said.

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