NORTH SMITHFIELD — Former Town Council president David A. Lovett said he is interested in heading the group again when the new council meets to organize itself next month.

Lovett, one of three incumbents who were returned to office in Tuesday’s election, came in second among the ten candidates who were running for five slots on the council. The top vote-getter was former Planning Commission chairman Lucien Benoit, who had 2,736 votes. The remaining elected candidates were Lovett with 2,693; former councilman Steven N. Biron with 2,644 votes, incumbent Paul J. Zwolenski with 2,622 votes, and incumbent Paul M. Leclerc with 2,610.

Only 126 votes separated Benoit’s first-place finish with Leclerc’s fifth place. But the disparity between fifth to sixth was significant, with incumbent Patrick M. Keeley’s 2,313 votes falling almost 300 votes short of Leclerc. The other candidates were Caroly Shumway with 2.149; Stephen Michael Vowels with 1,731; Frank M. Varrecchione with 1,108 and Leo O. Defond with 977.

Current Town Council President Linda Thibault had decided not to run for reelection.

Lovett, who served for two years on the council in the late 1980s, has been council president before, from 2004-2006. He passed on the office in 2006 and Thibault succeeded him.

“Absolutely,” Lovett said when asked if he was interested in being council president again. “I am interested in the presidency.”

He said he had not had a chance to solicit support among the other four council members, confining his conversations since election night to exchanges of congratulations.

He said the first order of business on the new council would be getting over some of the harshness of the campaign. Some council members such as Benoit and Biron, had promised to change the town’s image as one that is hostile to business development. That contrasted with Zwolenski, who has called for closer regulation of commercial development.

“I’m hoping the council is going to kind of get over that,” Lovett said.

Lovett seemed to be drawing support from at least two other members, which, with his own vote, would give him the three votes out of five he’d need to be council president.

“I think David is a gentleman and he runs a good meeting,” Zwolenski said, adding that he found Lovett open-minded and fair in his dealings with other council members. He predicted Lovett would be unanimously elected president.

“We may trip over ourselves trying to be the first to nominate him,” Zwolenski said.

Biron, who was on the council from 1999-2001, said he had not made a definitive choice of who he’d support for council president, but said he leaned toward Lovett because of his past experience as council president.

Benoit and Leclerc could not be reached for comment.

jhill@projo.com