Incumbent Mayor Ben Blake, Democrat, won reelection Tuesday night, defeating his Republican opponent Peter Spalthoff with about 61% of the vote.
The win means Blake will return for a second term. He said he plans to continue to focus on keeping the city financially sound, and return to some infrastructure projects that were put on hold the last two years because so much city attention was focused on storm recovery.
Democratic Town Committee Chairman Rich Smith said the vote is a clear indication that residents appreciated what Blake did his first two years in office.
“I think it’s a clear endorsement of Ben’s first term,” Smith said. “He led us through two of the worst natural disasters in the city’s history.”
Republican City Clerk Linda Stock was reelected, defeating her challenger, Democrat Charles Montalbano.
Preliminary numbers, which do not include absentee ballots, indicate the Democrats come out of the election with a 9-6 majority on the Board of Aldermen and a 6-4 majority on the Board of Education and a 6-4 majority on the Planning and Zoning Board.
See related election stories for individual board results.