As the polls close around Emerson Valley, the early count doesn’t look good for Mayor James Foley. His command post is set up at the Grand Spiral Hotel’s ballroom. Staffers and volunteers swarm the space, desperately seeking a sign that the current trends might change.

“I never thought we’d get to this point,” said Ryan McCallister, an Emerson Valley resident who has worked on Mayor Foley’s campaign team for three elections. “We didn’t have to do much in the last few elections. He was basically running against himself. We assumed his spotless record would speak for him, but I think we might’ve been wrong.”

Indeed, the mayor’s campaign was hit with a major disaster yesterday when an audio clip was leaked that caught him insulting Miriam Rook, current President of the Raven Club. The late-game scandal put a black spot on Mayor Foley’s formerly spotless record. Any hope that the voters would put aside what was said in the clip and remember how much he’s done for this town has seemingly dried up.

“It’s bad,” an anonymous staffer told me. “We got outplayed before we realized there was a game.”

As the clock ticks down on Election Day, the mood in Mayor Foley’s camp has become dour. There is a sense of foreboding amongst the staffers and volunteers. It’s as if everyone has read the writing on the wall at the same time. Unless a miracle occurs while the votes are being counted, we might have our first new mayor since 2004.

Although election officials will continue counting votes well into tomorrow morning, exit polls project Anthony Faulk winning. It is estimated he will secure 69% of the votes, while Mayor Foley will only claim 31%.

“It is what it is,” Mayor Foley says with a beleaguered sigh. “Emerson Valley has apparently moved on from me. Maybe it’s time I start over somewhere far away from here.”

Keep checking the Emerson Valley Gazette’s website for the latest updates on the election. For more information, you can contact us at emersonvalleygazette@gmail.com.

-Martin Fitzgerald, Emerson Valley Gazette