Brian Carey, a Republican Mount Hope councilman, won the Otisville mayoral race on March 21.
He got 125 votes to the 101 for his Democratic opponent, Isaac Palmer.
Carey told The Epoch Times in a statement: “Thank you to all that helped make this possible. I look forward to working with all village employees.”
It’s the most contested mayoral race the small village of Western Orange County has seen in 10 years.
About 217 voters showed up at the polling site, and 14 voted absentee ballots—the highest turnout since 2013.
The longtime Democratic mayor, Brian Wona, often ran unchallenged in his past reelection bids and will retire at the end of his eighth term.
Two village trustees—Republican Lance Davoren and Democrat Robert Clouse—prevailed in their reelection bids, with 136 and 105 votes, respectively.
The election ushers in a Republican majority leadership in Otisville for the first time in many years, with a Republican mayor and an equal split of the four-trustee village board.
Even so, Carey told The Epoch Times that party affiliations shouldn’t matter much at the village level, where water, streetlights, and garbage pickup dominate the discussions.
He said he looked forward to working with everyone in the village to maintain basic services and improve infrastructure, all while keeping taxes stable.
His action plan includes fixing downtown sidewalks, upgrading water mains, adding new park amenities, and improving the relationship between the village and town.
He said he would immediately resign from the town board to focus on village affairs.
Otisville mayors serve two-year terms, whereas trustees serve four-year terms.
Former trustee Bob Bennett and political newcomer Michael Dwyer also ran in the trustee election, with 93 and 85 votes, respectively.
Davoren told The Epoch Times in a previous interview that he would continue to host new programs or initiatives to bring the village of about 1,000 residents together.
During his first term, he hosted the village’s first prostate cancer awareness event and proposed a new Asian American advisory board to facilitate communications with the area’s growing Asian population.
Clouse, a four-term trustee, said he planned to maintain the stable financial condition, improve the village’s water infrastructure, and preserve historic sites.
He attributed the village’s financial shape to Wona.
He said Wona cleaned up the mess left by former clerk Barbara McDowell and got the village into a stable fiscal shape over his eight terms.
McDowell pleaded guilty in 2011 to stealing about $75,000 over four years from the village.
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