It’s official—local businessman Anthony Faulk (Rep.) has defeated the incumbent, James Foley (Dem.), in the Emerson Valley mayoral race. Mayor Foley led the town for an unprecedented four terms, spanning from 2004 to the present. Unfortunately, Mr. Foley recently came under fire over a leaked audio tape that caught the mayor disparaging several prominent residents, including Miriam Rook, who is the current President of the influential social organization known as the Raven Club.

They have spent countless hours and millions of dollars over the years to improve the lives of those who live in Emerson Valley, for which many townsfolk hold them in high regard. Hearing the disgusting things said on the tapes by Mr. Foley galvanized a large group of political activists to throw their support behind Mr. Faulk as an alternative candidate. During the previous three elections, Mr. Foley had run virtually unopposed, and he was not prepared to run a difficult campaign under the pressure of bad publicity.

The single debate that took place between Mr. Faulk and Mr. Foley at City Hall proved that the current mayor could not answer even simple questions about his platform and campaign promises. Growing concerns over bottlenecked traffic in town has gone largely unaddressed, despite the increase in public outcry over it. Mayor-Elect Faulk presented the audience with a clear and concise plan on how he intends to solve the issue, while Mr. Foley stumbled around aimlessly for two minutes, attempting to justify his lack of response to the problem by claiming bigger issues have been monopolizing his time.

As the polls closed last night, it was obvious that Mr. Faulk had won the election. About 87% of the votes have already been counted, and Mr. Faulk leads the incumbent 16,073 to 3,497. There are an estimated 22,495 votes in total, with a little under 3,000 left to be counted. Even if every single uncounted vote goes to Mr. Foley, he will have still lost the election by a significant margin. The people have spoken, and they desire a change in our local government.

When the Gazette reached out to Mayor Foley for comment, he replied, “I have faithfully served the people of Emerson Valley for sixteen years now. While I’m disappointed in the results, I’ve already contacted Anthony Faulk to offer my congratulations and conceded the election.”

Mayor-Elect Faulk issued the following statement early this morning: “I am eternally grateful to everyone who worked so hard on my campaign, and I sincerely thank the people of Emerson Valley for entrusting me with the well-being of our beloved town. I am determined to help right many of the wrongs that have gone unaddressed for far too long. I look forward to returning Emerson Valley to the shining beacon of community and commerce that it once was and will be again.”

-Sarah Donovan, Editor & Local News, Emerson Valley Gazette