Lansing - After a heated campaign and a narrow margin of victory, incumbent Tony Benavides was picked by the capital city's voters to continue serving out David Hollister's mayoral term.

Benavides was named mayor over state Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, with 49.06 percent of the vote (11,789 votes). Bernero had 47.99 percent (11,531 votes). Hollister left the mayor's office in January to join Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration. Benavides will complete the final two years of the term.

As the final numbers were totalled, Benavides was nothing but smiles as his supporters chanted from his downtown headquarters.

"This has been a long six-month campaign," Benavides said. "The challenges we faced right from day one, just one battle after another."

Red and white balloons filled the room as supporters grew more confident throughout the night.

Benavides stressed economic development and creating housing in downtown Lansing during his campaign.

He said his experience in local government made a difference in the race. He plans to work on his relationship with Bernero and business owners who didn't support him.

The course of the race during the past months was somewhat rocky for Bernero. In public bouts with Benavides, he was accused of being a political opportunist who would use the mayoral position as a steppingstone.

"I have no regrets about running," Bernero said. "I thought we had to have an alternative. We had to present strong leadership and we did that. We're ready to accept the voters' position."

Bernero's prior political experience includes eight years on the Ingham County Commission, two years as a state representative and the last 10 months as a state senator.

"I feel good," Bernero said. "I feel proud of my team and proud of my campaign. We really stayed focused on our message."

Benavides' experience incorporates 33 years as the director of Cristo Rey Community Center, 22 years on Lansing's City Council and the past 10 months as the capital city's mayor.

Throughout the race, Bernero said his top priority if elected would have been to improve public safety by reinstating community policing and D.A.R.E. programs. He also pledged to retain businesses as well as attract new ones - promising to create a business ombudsman who would have worked with local businesses.

He also stressed improving neighborhood safety by speeding up the process that allows the city to tear down abandoned houses used for crimes such as prostitution and drug sales.

Students working on the Benavides campaign say his creation of the Cristo Rey Community Center is an example of how he can contribute to the city.

Political theory and constitutional democracy junior Isaias Delgadillo has helped with the Benavides campaign since April. He said, "Lansing has had the right choice for 22 years."

"The people in the city of Lansing see Tony Benavides as the person to move the city forward," Delgadillo said. "He's shown that through his commitment over the years."

But Bill Sepic, president of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Bernero's plan for economic development should have made him the man for the job.

"It goes farther than just identifying a few key businesses," he said. "It includes revitalization of downtown and he has a regional approach."

But Benavides remains optimistic about the next two years.

"We had bumps in the road that kind of slowed us down, but didn't shut us down," he said.

Dirk VanderHart can be reached at vande227@msu.edu.

Brian Charlton can be reached at charlt10@msu.edu.