The results are in! On Tuesday, residents of Emerson Valley got out in droves to vote for the mayor (Anthony Faulk defeated incumbent James Foley), as well as the two seats on City Council that were available. All four candidates were new, as incumbent Henry Fisher (Dem.) is retiring at the end of this year, and Laurel Edison (Dem.) sadly passed away at the beginning of last month.

The candidates for their seats were: Lynn Feldman (Rep.) and Ronald Green (Dem.) for Mr. Fisher’s spot, and John H. Thurston, Jr. (Rep.) and Elizabeth Houghton (Dem.) for Mrs. Edison’s position.

The race for the first seat went to Lynn Feldman, an interior designer who ran on a platform promising to push for better education. The second seat was taken by John H. Thurston, Jr., who has been a construction foreman for twenty-seven years, and was a noted law and order candidate. Both elected officials will begin their terms in January.

Mr. Thurston was quoted as saying, “This is a big win for everyone who wants these streets cleaned up, and every criminal locked up in jail instead of prowling our neighborhoods.”

During the campaign, Mr. Thurston brought attention to the rising crime rate in Emerson Valley on multiple occasions. He had particularly harsh words for Sheriff Oliver Price, who won his own bid for re-election back in 2017.

“Sheriff Price has been wearing that badge for 24 years,” said Mr. Thurston. “Yet look at what he’s done with our town in that time. All I can say is, he will either clean up his act, or there will be serious consequences.”

Mrs. Feldman had equally-passionate words, but in regard to education. “Funding for our schools has been cut more and more every year. Nobody said anything when they were forced to close down the elementary school on the east side of town. Nobody said anything when class sizes ballooned, because they keep losing teachers due to the abysmal pay. And nobody said anything about our children still using outdated textbooks from twenty years ago, since the schools can’t afford to buy new ones. I intend to make it my mission to correct these problems, and put our education system back on track to reclaiming its status as one of the best in the state.”

Elizabeth Houghton could not be reached for comment concerning her loss. However, Ronald Green graciously conceded to Mrs. Feldman in person. Afterward, he told us, “I don’t mind losing to Lynn. She’s a wonderful woman, and I know she’ll make a great City Council member. I have a son who came up through this town’s school system, and even ten, fifteen years ago, we could see how things were slipping. I have faith that Lynn can fix all that.”

We would like to congratulate the two new City Council members, and wish them the best of success during their terms.

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