After a 5½-month vacancy, Jonathan Elmore was elected mayor of Avondale Estates, besting four other candidates in a special election Tuesday.
Elmore had 441 votes or 45.56 percent of the 968 total ballots cast, while Jim Hutchens ran second at 302 and 31.2 percent. None of the others were close: Paul Brown was at 124 votes, Todd Pullen 70 and John Pomberg 31.
Elmore will complete the term vacated by Ed Rieker in October. The term expires Dec. 31, with another election for the full four-year duration on Nov. 3. He’ll be sworn in Monday during the monthly Board of Mayor and Commissioners meeting.
The 49-year-old Elmore, a self-employed architect who’s lived in Avondale since 2007, was one of two candidates running on a pro-annexation platform (Pomberg was the other). It remains to be seen if his victory influences State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), who’s been non-committal on whether to sponsor the city’s annexation master plan.
“I do favor [annexation],” Elmore said, shortly after learning of his victory. “But for me the overarching thing is responsible growth, and I believe this particular [annexation] plan, as submitted by the commission, is responsible growth.”
Hutchens was the only candidate running an explicitly anti-annexation campaign, though even he seemed to waver in recent weeks.
“I don’t know what Jonathan’s victory says about annexation,” Hutchens said Tuesday night. “But I’ve come to the point where I believe we won’t have much of a say one way or another—the legislature will do what they want to do.”
Terry Giager, acting mayor since Rieker’s resignation, now returns to the commission. He unequivocally sees Elmore’s victory as a virtual beacon.
“Jonathan is absolutely the right fit for the board,” he said. “I think the voters have made their voice heard—this is a very strong endorsement for annexation.”
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