The Lansing City Council at-large election ended with the experience of two incumbents winning over newcomers Tuesday.

Louis Adado and Larry Meyer won the two four-year seats on the council with 8,301 and 6,691 votes, respectively.

Jerry Heathcote and Vince Villegas finished third and fourth with 4,003 and 3,774 votes.

Adado, 42, said he was not surprised at the outcome of the election.

“I had a pretty good feeling going in,” he said. “We had a number of candidate debates, and we all agreed on the same goals of the city. It’s just a matter of the styles people wanted, and Larry (Meyer) and I got the experience vote.”

Adado said he will continue finding ways to budget money and repair streets and sidewalks in Lansing.

“I think it was nice to win, it just kind of validates what Larry, I and everyone else in the council have been doing the last four years,” he said. “I think we’ve got to keep doing the same things we’re doing, because we’re the watchdogs for the mayor.”

Meyer, 59, said he was happy with the results.

“I was confident,” he said. “I think the city is pleased with the leadership that’s been shown on the council.”

Meyer said he will continue to strive for more efficient public safety and improving the quality of life in Lansing.

“I think it was a very positive campaign and I’m just happy to be serving,” he said. “I want to thank the people who voted for me, thanks to the citizens of Lansing, and I will do my best.”

Heathcote said he felt indifferent to election results.

“It’s my first time, I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.

But Heathcote, 40, said he hopes the council will focus more on Lansing residents rather than businesses in the city - something he focused on in his campaign.

“I think that obviously it’s the residents that vote and the council needs to be more fair to individuals and stop focusing on big institutions and big businesses,” he said. “If a resident has an issue, both the mayor and the council should deal with that instead of putting it on the backburner.”

Eighteen-year-old Vince Villegas, a recent graduate of Eastern High School in Lansing, said despite his loss in the election, Lansing citizens should expect to see him as a visible force in the community.

“I think it was important for myself to run,” he said. “I proved to adults and this community that young 18-year-olds just out of high school could run for a political office and get 3,700 votes.

“My involvement in this community is not going to go away, it’s only the beginning of my political career.”

In the fourth ward election, Geneva Smith also claimed the open seat with 2,398 votes over Lester Stone’s 1,677 votes.

Sandy Allen ran unopposed for the second ward council seat and was elected with 2,615 votes.

Smith, Stone and Allen could not be reached for comment.

Leslie Escobar can be reached at escobarl@msu.edu