With 2,001 votes, Vic Loomis will be the new face on the East Lansing City Council in 2001.
Incumbent Bill Sharp will retain his council seat after receiving 1,908 votes, narrowly beating out early poll leader Kevin Beard, who had 1,877 votes.
Planning Commissioner Liz Harrow received 1,516 votes.
Sharp and Loomis will serve four-year terms on the council and will be paid $6,000 annually.
Loomis, 54, is a senior vice president and senior lender for National City Bank of Michigan/Illinois and chairman of the Downtown Development Authority.
“We just stayed focused on our differences on the issues, I really applaud the quality of the campaign,” he said. “It has personally been a very enriching experience.”
Sharp, 73, is retired and was the only city council incumbent to run for re-election this year. Beth Schwarze decided not to run for re-election this year, freeing up the other spot.
“I’m really pleased, it was a very close election with several great candidates,” Sharp said. “I respect the community for voting me in and I respect the candidates for the clean race.
“I hope (Beard and Harrow) will continue to be active in the community - their time for election will come. I look forward to working with Vic and the rest of city council.”
East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said he didn’t think the city’s direction would change regardless of who won the election.
“All four candidates acknowledged the positive momentum the city is experiencing,” Staton said. “I think the close results are a tribute to the hard work of all the candidates.”
Although Julia Wimberly is no longer a student, the 2001 MSU graduate said her votes went to Sharp and Loomis on behalf of the students.
“It’s important because a lot of people like to pretend the student population isn’t here,” she said. “The campus and city are pretty intertwined. I stopped before I came down here to see what I would be voting on.”
Harrow, 48, an architect and teacher at Lansing Community College, said she was prepared for a win or a loss
“I’ve practiced for either way,” she said. “It was fun, but a lot of work. Life will probably be simpler without it. Other candidates used more politics than I did - they were more savvy.
“I learned a lot. If I do run again, I will know what to do.”
Beard, 45, an education and training representative for General Motors Corp. and chairman of the Planning Commission, said he had nothing to apologize for after months of working for a seat on the council.
“We ran a good campaign and we focused on the issues,” he said. “I couldn’t think of anything else I needed to do.”
But Beard said he believes the student voice will not be properly represented by those elected to council.
“They will continue to be status quo,” Beard said. “The students missed a great opportunity.”
Voter turnout in East Lansing was 14.33 percent with 4,408 votes, slightly higher than in previous elections, city officials said.
Poll workers at the 10th Precinct in the Union napped, folded holiday cards and knitted socks while waiting for any of the precinct’s 1,770 student and resident voters to arrive. At 7:30 p.m., only 34 had received “I Voted” stickers.
“We put up this ‘Quiet Please’ sign for the voters - and then it was really quiet,” Precinct Chairwoman Terry Stemle said. “If a student got through the primary, students would have come to vote. The students want more representation on campus. They should come get it.”
