SEBASTIAN – Andrea Coy, Eugene Wolff and Don Wright beat out five others for a place on the Sebastian City Council dais in Tuesday’s election. Voters also approved the tax abatement referendum.
The winning candidates ran on platforms of economic development, pro-tax abatement, and revitalizing the city’s waterfront, which helped bring voters out on what ended up being a dreary, rainy day.
With a margin of about 4 percent between third place finisher Wright and fourth-place Bob McPartlan, the election wasn’t quite a sweep but not tight, either. Voter turnout was about what elections officials had expected, with 8,525 ballots cast.
Coy took first place with 1,550 votes, edging out Wolff, who had been leading throughout the race. Wolff received 1,540 votes, and Wright had 1,389 votes.
McPartlan, who placed fourth, received 1,052 votes, with Lisanne Robinson following with 923 votes and Joe Scozzari behind her with 812 votes. Al Paternoster received just 10 votes fewer than Scozzari, while David DeVirgilio trailed far with 457 votes.
The current Sebastian City Council will accept the results of the election at a special meeting Nov. 9 and the new members will be sworn in. At that time, the newly-seated council will select their mayor and vice mayor.