By Joyce Miles<br><a href="mailto:joyce.miles@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joyce</a>
TOWN OF LOCKPORT — The town board team that campaigned on the theme “continue the progress” was swept back into office by a 2-1 vote margin Tuesday.
Incumbent Republican Supervisor Marc R. Smith handily defeated Democratic-backed challenger David J. Mongielo by a vote count of 1,816 to 893, not counting absentee ballots cast.
In a four-way race for two open council seats, GOP incumbents Paul H. Pettit and Mark C. Crocker were the top two vote-getters, taking nearly twice as many votes as their Democratic-backed challengers, David T. Devereaux and Donna J. Pieszala.
The vote count was: Pettit, 1,762; Crocker, 1,665; Devereaux, 944; and Pieszala, 896.
Smith noted the GOP slate won in every precinct, even the 3rd precinct covering neighborhoods in the Hamm Road,
Dorchester Road and Badger Drive area, where two issues — Donner Creek flooding and Walmart’s desire to build a Supercenter at the Lockport Mall — fueled considerable anti-incumbent sentiment.
“I’m happy for the show of support from residents, by wide margins in most cases,” Smith said. “It tells me voters support what we’re doing, and I promise we’re going to do great things in the next two years.”
Pettit again received the most votes of any council candidate, just as he did in the GOP primary election, which featured all the same names. Asked what he thinks that signifies, he preferred to talk about the team.
“The (election) results are an indication people feel the three of us are doing the job they elected us to do and they want us to continue,” he said. “I’m pleased and I look forward to it.”
