And the winner of this year’s election to become Eden Prairie’s next Mayor is……..Councilmember Phil Young. With 100% of the vote counted from yesterday’s election, Councilmember Young prevailed over Councilmember Ron Case by a total vote count of 12,696 to 11,196. There were 63 write-ins. There were 6 Overvotes, which means that 6 people voted for both candidates. And there were 2,999 Undervotes, which means the voter cast a ballot with no vote for the Mayor’s race. Councilmember Young has been a member of the Eden Prairie City Council since January 2003. He will reach the end of his four year term on the Council in December. He will begin his four year term as Eden Prairie’s new Mayor on Tuesday, January 2, 2007.
There were also six candidates running for two at-large seats on the City Council in yesterday’s election. First time Council candidate Jon Duckstad was the top vote-getter in the Council race with 8,831 votes. Jon is currently a member of the City’s Planning Commission. The second highest vote-getter, with 7,475 votes, was also a first time Council candidate: Kathy Nelson. As the second highest vote-getter, Kathy also wins a seat on the City Council. Kathy is a former member of our Planning Commission and is currently a member of the City’s Housing Task Force that is involved in the decennial update of the City’s Comprehensive Land Use Guide Plan. Jon and Kathy will start their new four year terms on the Council on January 2, 2007 where they will join current City Councilmembers Brad Aho and Sherry Butcher.
Other candidates and their vote totals in the Council race were: Gary Stevens, 7,407; Nina Mackay, 6,089; Jeff Strate, 4,783; and Larry Piumbroeck, 3,072. There were also 189 write-ins, 56 Overvotes, and (an astounding) 16,018 Undervotes.
As for voter turnout in Eden Prairie, there were 37,439 voters registered at 7:00am on Election Day. We registered 3,544 on Election Day for a total number of registered voters of 40,098. Of these 40,098 registered voters, 26,962 of them voted in yesterday’s election. That’s a 67.2% turnout. Of those 26,962 voters, 24,554 of them voted yesterday and 2,408 voted absentee. The 8.9% absentee rate was a little lower than I thought it would be. 67% turnout is about right in a non-Presidential general election.
Our electoral process in Eden Prairie was free and fair yesterday. There was no “monkey business” at the polls. Our voting machines worked exactly the way they are supposed to work. There was no violence in the streets. The process was peaceful. The citizens of Eden Prairie have cast their votes and made their decisions. Now it’s time to govern.
