The Results Are In

The results are in and Pat Leitzen Fye has won the Citizens Party's primary for mayor of Freeport. The race finished in the order that I thought it would if there was to be a change in leadership. The results reflect that Freeport wants to change, but not drastically.

IL Freeport Mayor - 100% of Precincts Reporting
Pat Leitzen Fye 1,627 36%
James Gitz 1,108 24%
Craig Joesten 917 20%
Dean Wright 717 16%
Mariann Garvens 164 4%
Mel Lemanski 47 1%

We want more jobs and that is the overarching factor that will decide the general election. We need a reason for our young adults to stay in Freeport. Mayor Gitz gave his all to this city and is to be commended for the work he did. In the end, though, he, much like Mayor Weis before him, fell victim to the 8 year or two term curse. There was talk from the Mayor that he would only serve two terms. When he decided to run for a third term, enough people decided that two was the limit, his chances for a third victory were in doubt. Tonight's results bear that out. I hope that once the general election is over that Mayor Gitz will help with the transition. He still has a role to play in Freeport if the new mayor will ask for his assistance. He has many personal contacts in state government and among mayors throughout the country. He can still be a great ambassador for the city of Freeport if he is given the chance. Don't let him walk away after all of the time he has dedicated to our city.

So congratulations to Pat Leitzen Fye! You ran a clean campaign-not overstated, not over-hyped, not overly negative-if she works toward the goal of building a consensus in Freeport and building upon our positive attributes, she will go a long ways toward establishing a strong voter base for the general election. At this point of the race, like it is said in sports, it is her election to lose.