BERLIN – Incumbent Dean Burrell will retain the District 4 council seat after defeating challenger Tony Weeg by just two votes in Tuesday’s municipal election.
Burrell, a 28-year incumbent, received 37 votes while Weeg received 35 in Berlin’s 2022 election.
“My heartfelt thank you for the voters that turned out to provide their support and those that provided prayers and best wishes,” Burrell said in a social media post following the election. “I cannot express with words how humbled I am for this opportunity to serve.”
Just 72 District 4 voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s municipal election. The vote was actually a tie—Burrell and Weeg each had 34 votes—until absentee ballots were counted. Burrell received three absentee votes while Weeg received one.
Weeg expressed disappointment in Tuesday’s voter turnout. The 72 people who voted this week represented just 8% of the 888 District 4 voters.
“Now that this election is over, I think the biggest takeaway is that we have a sleepy electorate,” Weeg said. “That less than 10% of our registered voters showed up is rather pitiful. Dean and I agree on most every big issue that faces the town today and for that I know he will continue to do a good job. He and I both have the town first in our heart with all decisions, and that is most important.”
He continued, “In the wake of this cycle, I look forward to spending time with my family, future elections and figuring out ways to wake up our voters, and making progress towards our skatepark. Many thanks to those 72 who did show up, no matter how you voted, you decided to make a difference with your vote.”
Though the 2022 election was set to include voting for the District 1, District 4 and at-large council seats, District 4 was the only contested district.
In District 1, Steve Green, (editor/publisher of this newspaper), was unopposed. In the at-large district, candidate Adrian Bowen dropped out of the race, leaving incumbent Jay Knerr unopposed.
In the weeks leading up to the election, Burrell said he was running for another term to continue to use his experience for the betterment of the town.
“I feel I am the best person for the job,” he said prior to the election. “I bring to the council great experience and an understanding of the operation and authority of the council. I also bring leadership, a valued opinion by the mayor, council membership and staff and above all a sense of fair play.”
Burrell, Knerr and Green will be sworn in at the next town council meeting on Oct. 11.
