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McIntyre loses Edgerton seat, then wins one back

Photo

Mark Wellnitz

Photo

Matt McIntyre

EDGERTON — The city of Edgerton lost veteran alderman Matt McIntyre in a District 2 election Tuesday night to newcomer Candy Davis, who beat McIntyre by a vote total of 262 to 232.

But then the city won him back.

McIntyre, who ran for two seats Tuesday on the city council, held on to a council seat by narrowly defeating incumbent Dave Thomas 251 to 222 in a bid for a 1-year District 2 seat.

McIntyre couldn’t be reached for comment late Tuesday, but other winners of three open seats on the Edgerton City Council sounded off on their victory.

Davis said she was excited about the win and also was excited by a higher-than-average voter turnout.

“It says to me a lot of people are paying attention. They feel their voice needs to be heard to make a difference. That’s great,” Davis said.

She said she’s interested in meeting with local business owners to learn their secrets to success and discuss how to build a stronger downtown.

“I want to sit down with some of the businesses that are doing well and get some of their thoughts and ideas. I think that’s pretty important,” Davis said.

District 3 incumbent Mark Wellnitz held onto his council seat with 310 votes, defeating newcomer Brennon Ruosch, who got 147 votes.

Wellnitz said the city will likely face some tough budget choices as the city stares at the specter of shared revenue cuts from the state.

He said the council will need to start working on the budget in earnest right away.

“As soon as we can get our hands on numbers, we’re going to have to get personal with budget documents,” Wellnitz said. “We’re going to have to try to do the best we can, but try to do services at less cost without eliminating them.”

Wellnitz said he hopes for strong public involvement in budget planning. He said he’d like to see City Hall full at council meetings in coming months.

“It’s going to be needed,” he said.

Before the election, McIntyre said his goal is to bring the community together.

“You talk to people at the gas station, church, the grocery store, and you learn what's on their minds. It's rewarding to bring those ideas back to the council, and hone them through our (city) subcommittees, where all the heavy work happens. It's great to see those citizen ideas transform and turn the city into a better place to live."