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Lund is a double victor in Edgerton races

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Christopher Lund

MILTON — While Chris Lund talked to a reporter Tuesday following twin election wins for his bids for Edgerton mayor and District 2 alderman, he winced at a crack of thunder from an approaching storm.

“It’s really close. That one was really close,” Lund said.

For Lund, lightning struck twice earlier in the night.

He won in two landslide elections, knocking off mayoral challenger Matt McIntyre, 52, a former mayor for 10 years, and retaining his District 2 seat against challenger Marvin Charleston, by huge margins.

Lund, a 54-year-year maintenance and setup mechanic and 14-year incumbent alderman, plans to vacate his council seat to take office as mayor April 20.

Lund’s double-barrel victories Tuesday ended an election season he’s glad he won’t have to repeat.

He said he’s never felt so pressured to succeed. He simply couldn’t lose both races.

Now he’s mayor. And alderman.

“I don’t know. Vindication’s not the right term, but man I’m relieved,” Lund said. “I’ve been stressed out. This stressed me out terribly. I feel so much better now. Just so much better,” he said.

Lund said he believes McIntyre’s 4-year hiatus from the mayor’s seat had an impact on the outcome of the mayor’s race.

“Matt hasn’t been mayor for four years. And things have changed since then. That maybe didn’t help him,” Lund said.

McIntyre, an incumbent, will return to his seat on the council for another year.

Meanwhile, Lund’s mayoral victory will leave his council seat open. Lund says he doesn’t know whether Charleston wants the seat.

“I don’t know if Marv will even throw his hat in the ring. I don’t know if he’s interested or not. I haven’t seen him,” McIntyre said.

Regardless of whether Charleston petitions for the vacancy, Lund says he hopes the council carries forward its 20-year history of soliciting public interest in the open seat.

“I hope we do the same process we have in the past and see what kind of interest it draws,” he said.

Lund said he thinks the city could see a few new candidates sign up for the open council seat.

“There are some people who don’t want to run a campaign, and I can see why. This one took a lot out of me,” he said.

As new mayor, Lund said he’s excited to see construction projects popping up in the city, and he hopes the trend continues.

“I think Edgerton’s a little ahead of the curve that’s happening in the economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lund said he wants to keep taxes consistent and promote controlled, supportable growth.

“I’m not one that’s in favor of a big boom that goes away too fast. I want to see our infrastructure keep up,” he said.

Lund said he’s glad some of the city’s major projects are in the works or nearing completion.

“The city hall is our last project that we have to do,” he said. “Now it’s a matter of taking care of your infrastructure. That’s the biggest issue now, as far as I can see.”

Lund said as mayor he’d have to learn to be an assertive leader.

“I’m sometimes more happy being the guy in the background. I guess that’s something I’ll have to deal with,” he said.