The town of Vevay went to the polls Tuesday and voted for change – as there will be two new members of the town council in January, and the board will feature a Republican majority for the first time in town history.
Tye Sullivan, Kirk Works, and Jamie Hayes were elected from the six candidate field on Tuesday, which featured a voter turnout of 31-percent – with 417 voters going to the polls out of a possible 1,341.
Eligible voters were registered voters in Jefferson I and Jefferson II precincts who live in the town limits of Vevay. Everyone voted at the community building, where all six candidates held vigil throughout election day in spite of temperatures in the 40s.
One interesting voting trend was the number of “straight ticket” ballots – where a person casts a single vote and supports all of the candidates of one party.
In Tuesday’s election, there were 56 “straight ticket” Republican votes cast; compared to only 54 “straight ticket” Democrat votes.
With Vevay having a reputation as a “Democrat Town”, those results may show a trend toward a new era of politics in the community.
Republican Tye Sullivan was the leading vote getter on the day, garnering 293 votes to easily lead all candidates. He got 155 votes in Jefferson I and 138 votes in Jefferson II. He will begin his first term on the Vevay Town Council on January 1st.
Joining him on the town council will be fellow Republican Kirk Works, who finished second overall in the voting with a total of 236 votes. He received 120 votes in Jefferson I and 116 votes in Jefferson II. He will also be a first time councilman beginning in January.
The third member of the town council will be a familiar one, as Democrat Jamie Hayes was elected to his third term. He finished third overall in the voting, receiving 97 votes in Jefferson I and 108 votes in Jefferson II for a total of 205.
Leaving the town council will be Democrat Pete Furnish, who finished fourth overall with a total of 176 votes. He received 81 votes in Jefferson I and 95 votes in Jefferson II. A longtime member of the town council, he has served the community for 14 years on the council.
Finishing fifth overall in the race was Republican Ben Schoenhoeft, who finished with 165 votes. He got 95 votes in Jefferson I and 70 votes in Jefferson II.
Democrat George Altepeter finished with a total of 134 votes, as he got 66 votes in Jefferson I and 68 votes in Jefferson II.
Vevay clerk-treasurer Donna Graham was reelected to another four year term on Tuesday, as she was unopposed. She earned 257 votes overall, getting 129 votes in Jefferson I and 128 votes in Jefferson II.
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Following the announcement of the vote totals in the Switzerland County courthouse, the three newly-elected council members took a few moments to reflect on the election – and what lies ahead.
“It’s exciting. It was a good race,” Tye Sullivan said. “We all knew it was going to be close. I’m proud to be the leading vote getter, and I’m looking forward to serving on the council.”
“I haven’t concentrated on anything other than today,” Kirk Works said about planning to take office. “But we will have to do that soon. We need to be prepared for January 1st.”
“It’s good to know that after eight years you can get reelected,” Jamie Hayes – now the veteran of the council – said. “I’m glad that I could muster up enough votes to stay on. I’m looking forward to it.”
All three winners said that they will be meeting with the current town council over the next two months in an effort to be up to speed on town matters during the transition.
“It will take a little while to get up to speed, but both of these guys are very knowledgeable, so it won’t be a problem,” Jamie Hayes said of his two new council mates. “These guys are smart guys. They aren’t going to have any problems.”
“We want to be ready to hit the ground running in January and make changes,” Kirk Works said. “That’s what we were elected for.”