On Tuesday, the Republican Party kept the majority by winning at least seven of the nine seats on the council. Incumbents running unopposed, Brent Sheldon, Ward 1 councilman, and Anthony Dolce, council president and Ward 2 councilman, obviously kept their seats. Kimberly Ecklund, At-Large councilwoman, and Jeff Russell, At-Large councilman, were incumbent Republicans in competitive races who also kept their positions.

Incumbent Grant Ward, Ward 5, who announced in September that he would not be taking another term on the council if re-elected, defeated Democratic challenger Douglas Lawson. Olson, who first was elected two years ago to the council, said he is not seeking another term because as a young professional — general manager at Axiom Office Imagining — and father, his time has become increasingly limited.

Sheldon, who is also the city’s Republican Committee chairman, said the Republican Party ran advertisements to remind the public that if Olson was re-elected, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist is required to select another registered Republican to serve Olson’s two-year term in Ward 5.

“That was kind of surprising,” Sheldon said about Olson still winning despite announcing he would not take another term.

Center, Regina Brackman, Ward 3 councilwoman, sits as she watch election night results come in while at the Beer Snob in Jamestown. Brackman, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party, has an 11-vote lead over Robert Reedy II, who was endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Two more newcomers on the council from the Republican Party will be Andrew Faulkner, who defeated incumbent Democrat Tom Nelson in Ward 6 and Randall Daversa, who was elected to the other At-Large seat on the council.

Faulkner, a union electrician with IBEW Local 106, said he is excited to get to work for his ward.

“I’ve put in a ton of work and I felt confident about it,” he said about his chances. “When I went door-to-door, the main issue I was hearing about was housing conditions. I hope, working with the council and the development department, that I can help to improve the city’s housing, not just in Ward 6, but for all the wards.”

Faulkner said this is the first time he has ever run for public office.

“I’d been going to (Jamestown Republican Party Committee) meetings for several years now, but this is the first time I ever attempted (to run for office),” he said.

Daversa, who is a retired equipment operator and supervisor for the state Department of Transportation, gave the Republican Party a sweep at the At-Large positions. Dolce, who won his 14th two-year term on the council and is the longest-tenured councilman in the history of Jamestown, said he doesn’t remember the last time the Republican Party swept the At-Large positions.

“We had two strong incumbents and Randy Daversa worked his tail off,” he said. “He went to all the wards. Knocked on all the doors. He did his job and came out strong.”

At the end of the night, only two Democrat Party candidates were leading in votes — Regina Brackman in Ward 3 and Marie Carrubba in Ward 4. However, Brackman only had an 11-vote lead over Republican Robert Reedy II, which means the race could be determined by absentee ballots. As of press time, it wasn’t known how many absentee ballots had been received by the Chautauqua County Board of Elections in Ward 3.

Brackman is no stranger to finding out the official results of a race after Election Day. In 2013, Brackman lost a Ward 3 race to Tamara Dickey by a total of six votes after all the absentee ballots had been counted.

Even though the results aren’t official yet, Brackman told The Post-Journal that it feels amazing to have the support of Ward 3.

“I’m overjoyed the residents felt I was the right person. It’s quite humbling,” she said.

Brackman, who was appointed to the position earlier this year after her friend Vickye James had died unexpectedly, said it’s bittersweet that she might be carrying on James’ legacy as the representative of Ward 3.

“I was thinking earlier, ‘I wish she was here,’ but if she was then I wouldn’t be,”‘ she said. “I know she would be pleased with the outcome. I have to continue the work she started.”

The unofficial results as of Tuesday according to the Board of Elections has the At-Large race with Ecklund receiving the most votes with 2,198, Russell with 1,942 votes and Daversa with 1,780 votes. The three other At-Large candidate results included Ellen Ditonto with 1,411 votes, Christina Cardinale with 1,262 votes and Alyssa Porter with 1,109 votes.

The Ward 1 and 2 race results include Sheldon gaining 357 votes and Dolce with 497 votes.

In Ward 3, Brackman has 159 votes and Reedy has 148 votes. In Ward 4, Carrubba has 471 votes and Richard Elardo has 406 votes. In Ward 5, Olson has 323 votes and Lawson has 237. In Ward 6, Faulkner has 305 votes and Nelson has 243.