Though impossible to read voters’ minds, the three new city commissioners thought their experience, ability to communicate with citizens and familiarity with challenges facing Emporia helped them get elected Tuesday.
Voters elected Bobbi Mlynar, Rob Gilligan and Joel Phipps to fill three vacant seats on the Emporia City Commission. They will begin serving April 20.
“All three have a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge about what goes on in the city,” said fellow candidate Christian Keisler.
Voting turnout was a tad higher at 22.2 percent, but the results mirrored the primary election March 1.
Mlynar, a retired journalist, was the highest vote getter both times. Tuesday she received 1,765 votes, which was 20.9 percent of the total votes. Voters could select up to three names on the ballot.
Gilligan, sales director for Emporia Marketplace.com, a division of The Emporia Gazette, was second with 1,507 voters or 17.9 percent. Phipps, broker and owner of Re/Max select, received 1,406 votes.
Mlynar and Gilligan will serve the next four years while Phipps will have a two-year term.
Jennell Tebbetts finished a distant fourth (944 voters) and Keisler was fifth (828). Both said they might run again in 2013.
Tom Myers, the only candidate to previously serve on the commission took sixth place. Joe Endres, Bobbie Agler and James Bordonaro rounded out the field. Agler pulled out of the race last month but his name still appeared on the ballot.
When asked why they thought people voted for them, the winners had some notions.
Mlynar said voters might have wanted more of an opportunity to be in touch with city leaders. In her campaign she talked about a disconnect between commissioners and the citizens they serve. She said residents should feel free to get in touch with her.
“I’m glad voters had trust in me and felt I was right for the city,” she said.
Gilligan said as a lifelong Emporian he’s had a lot of support from the community.
“I think the support and connections really helped me,” he said.
Gilligan said his experience with Main Street gave him a different perspective on opportunities for Emporia.
“I was able to share and communicate those opportunities with the voters,” he said.
Phipps said his business background and familiarity with various issues may have set him apart from other candidates. He said he was able to display some of his experience and leadership at candidate forums.
The newly elected commissioners were complimentary of each other and thought they will work well together.
Gilligan said Mlynar and Phipps bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the office.
“I hope we can do some really good things for the community,” he said.
Mlynar said she feels all three have some common ground in several areas.
“But we have some differences, which is good because the more input the better when coming up with solutions,” she said.
Phipps said he’s open to working with everyone.
All three know they will face challenges right away. The commission is heading into budget season and a bevy of project and policy issues will be passed on to them, some right away.
Gilligan said it will be a steep learning curve for the new commissioners.
“I know I will look to Commissioner Nelson and Mayor Kessler for some guidance and leadership from when they came in,” he said. “There would be some great training opportunities in the city and state so we can learn and ramp up. With budget just around the corner, it will be a heck of a steep curve.”
Phipps said there’s no doubt they will have to learn quite a bit, but they will lean on Kessler and Nelson. Mlynar agreed, saying it will take some time to settle in.
Though they didn’t win, Tebbetts and Keisler said some positives came out of the election.
Keisler, an Emporia State communication major, said during the campaign people took him seriously and listened to his ideas. In turn he learned quite a bit.
“It broadened my views of what’s going on in the city,” he said.
Keisler was recently appointed to the Emporia Recreation Commission. He said he’ll see how that goes and consider running again in the future.
Tebbetts was already committed to a future run.
“This is not the end,” she said. “It’s the beginning because there will be more opportunities for me to run for elected office. I will be definitely running again. It’s been a challenge and I love a good challenge.”