NORTH SMITHFIELD — Town Administrator Robert B. Lowe lost his bid for a third term yesterday after being upset by challenger Paulette D. Hamilton, director of the town’s Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force.

Hamilton garnered 57 percent of the vote; she received 3,008 votes to 2,289 for Lowe.

“I’m trying to savor the moment. I’m so excited,” said Hamilton, who characterized herself as “most definitely the underdog.”

Lowe, a former nine-term legislator, had argued that the state’s difficult fiscal condition required the town to be run by someone with experience.

Hamilton, making her first run for political office, ran based on the idea that the town required a new and more inclusive style of leadership.

Interviewed at the VFW Hall during her victory party, she vowed to work toward more transparency in town government and said another priority would be “treating everyone with respect, which has been a common theme in our campaign.”

“Everyone has put their faith in me, and I won’t let them down,” said Hamilton, who will be sworn in Dec. 1.

gemery@projo.com