BERLIN – Residents showed strong support for Mayor Gee Williams in this week’s municipal election, pushing him to a decisive victory over Councilmember Lisa Hall.
Williams received 81 percent of the votes cast in Tuesday’s mayoral election. In the race for the District 2 council seat, Zack Tyndall came out ahead of Jack Orris with 61 percent of the vote.
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams
“I am very grateful for the support I received,” Williams said Wednesday. “I believe the election for mayor was about more than personalities. I think the campaigns provided Berlin voters with two contrasting viewpoints about where we are and where and how we may choose to move forward in the future.”
He received 588 votes Tuesday in comparison to Hall’s 137. He won in each of the town’s four voting districts. In Hall’s own District 2, the district where the most ballots were cast, Williams received 248 votes to Hall’s 57.
Williams has been a familiar face in Berlin politics since 2003 when he joined the town council. When then-Mayor Tom Cardinale died in the spring of 2008, Williams, as council vice president, was charged with completing Cardinale’s term. He filed for election again that fall, defeating challenger Rex Hailey, and ran unopposed in 2012.
Hall, who was elected to her second council term in 2012, made it known early on that she intended to run for mayor in 2016. Williams, however, wasn’t ready to give up the seat.
He said Wednesday he was looking forward to working with the council to keep Berlin “a very cool small town.”
“I trust Berlin citizens are proud of our community and what we have all accomplished together,” Williams said. “Now that our town election is over, I hope that after we have all taken a collective deep breath, we recognize there is much work that remains to be done. If we continue to emphasize working together and listening to competing ideas with mutual respect, I sincerely believe, for Berlin, the best is yet to come.”
Hall, only able to file for one position, left her District 2 council seat vacant when she opted to run for mayor. The race appeared wide open, as neither Orris, 34, or Tyndall, 26, had sought elected office before.
Tyndall garnered 185 votes while Orris received 116.
In a statement Wednesday, Tyndall thanked his family, friends and neighbors for their support.
“Growing up, my parents instilled in me the importance of never compromising your character,” he said. “Throughout this election, I have maintained my integrity and stood for what I believe is right. I look forward to working with the council, Mayor Williams and the public to keep Berlin a great place to live and visit. Thank you again for the opportunity to give back to the community that raised me.”
Tyndall, a lifelong Berlin resident, was thrown into the public spotlight in 2013 when he filed an $8 million harassment lawsuit against the Berlin Fire Company, where he worked as a paramedic. The suit was settled last fall and Tyndall is now a Realtor. In an effort to prepare for a role as a councilman, he’s been a regular attendee at council meetings in recent months.
Williams praised the campaigns of both Tyndall and Orris.
“I congratulate both council-member elect Zack Tyndall and candidate Jack Orris for running positive, issue-based campaigns,” he said. “I know both of these gentlemen have much to offer in public service to Berlin.”
From 3,172 registered voters in town, 740 voted Tuesday, representing a voter turnout of 23.3 percent. That’s an increase from the 2012 election, in which voter turnout was 16.8 percent. There was, however, only one officially contested race that year, when Hall bested challenger Ron Marney in District 2.
This year’s voter turnout was significantly below that of 2008, however, as the rate that year was 31.6 percent. That election featured a contest for mayor as well as a three-way race for the District 2 council seat.
As expected Tuesday, the bulk of the town’s voters came from District 2, as they were able to vote
for both mayor and council candidates. In that district voter turnout was 37.2 percent, as 312 of the district’s 839 voters took part. The fewest ballots were cast in District 3, where just 106 of the district’s 802 registered voters participated.
Mary Bohlen, the town’s administrative services director, said the only election issues related to the re-districting done two years ago.
“Overall things went smoothly,” she said. “The main issue seemed to be that, having done re-districting in 2014, some affected voters were unaware that their districts, and in some cases polling place, had changed, so there was some confusion with that.”
