In the race for Hamilton city council for Ward 1, challenger Melvin Monson slightly increased his lead over incumbent Michael LaSalle, bringing the count to 226-184.

“I’d like to thank the residents in Ward 1 for their votes,” said Monson, a council veteran and local school teacher of more than 30 years.

Monson said he’ll focus on whatever projects arise in the new term as well as emphasizing safety and children’s issues.

He said he favors seeking alternative funding sources for city projects and giving the taxpayers a break.

“The economy is down right now and I want to do what we can do for the citizens of Hamilton without a lot of [tax] increase on them,” he said. “Try not to get any more debt, but if there are grants or stimulus money available, then, yeah, maybe that will help jobs and things around here and that would be great.”

LaSalle congratulated Monson on his victory and wished him luck.

“I think that I’ve left a good legacy and I know that Mel will fill those shoes and represent the people of the ward who supported him. He has experience, he’s done it before and I wish him the best,” LaSalle said.

During his eight years on council, LaSalle helped spearhead a number of projects, including the addition of the Canyon Hideaway playground at Claudia Driscoll Park and improvements to 10th Street, Honey Lane and Kiwanis Park.

“I want to thank everybody who voted for me and has voted for me over the last eight years,” LaSalle said. “I appreciate their confidence in me.”

Vote counts in the Ward 3 council race remained largely unchanged with Lynette Helgeland defeating write-in candidate Stacy Lewis 197-116.

Helgeland noted that her opponent - who has been finishing resigned councilwoman Claudia Williamson’s term - waged a formidable write-in campaign.

“If you look at the number of votes that she got, she worked hard,” Helgeland said. “The city council picked her to take Claudia Williamson’s seat until the term comes up in January and she has really done quite well and has done her homework and I have a lot of respect for her.”

Helgeland, a political newcomer and a stay-at-home mother, said she was looking for a way to make more of an impact in her community.

“For me this was an opportunity to do something a little larger as far as giving back to my community and representing the people in a way that I felt they needed to be represented,” she said.

Helgeland said she would focus some of her attention on the city’s infrastructure and its growth.

“We have quite a few departments outgrowing their facilities and it’s very important that we develop a plan on how we’re going to meet those needs, so we’re not passing some sort of mill levy in the future to try to cover building costs and things that we’re in desperate need of,” she said.

In the race for the Hamilton Ward 2 council seat, incumbent Nancy Joy Hendrickson defeated challenger Corey Johnson.

In the Stevensville mayoral race, Mayor-elect Lewis Carter Barnett, who defeated Clayton D. Floyd Jr., said he was looking forward to the challenges of the office.

“The city’s going to go through some changes,” he said. “We’re going to institute policy and we’re going to be a little more financially responsive, a little more conservative and we’re going to establish better communications between the departments and the citizens of Stevensville. That’s what I ran on and that’s what we’re going to do.”

In the Stevensville Ward 1 council races, Robin Holcomb and Patrick Groninger were the victors, while declared write-in candidate Desera Towle won the Ward 2 council race against Ken Scrivner.

Unofficial results for Darby, Florence and Pinesdale races also became available Wednesday.

In Darby, Mayor Rick Scheele, running unopposed, was re-elected with 112 votes, David “Bud” Hall won the Ward 1 council seat with 66 votes and Ned Trowbridge won the Ward 2 council seat with 40 votes.

In Pinesdale, Stephen Stoker defeated Rulon Jessop in the race for selectman. Stoker received 91 votes and Jessop received 67.

In the Florence water and sewer district director race, Margie O’Brien won with 112 votes, defeating John Thompson with 91 votes, Judy Sass with 87 votes, Paul Kamrath with 86 votes, Christopher Anderson with 83 votes, Patricia Coombs with 78 votes and Ronald Sass with 31 votes.

Official results for the municipal elections are expected to be released on Tuesday.

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Reporter Will Moss can be reached at 363-3300 or wmoss@ravallirepublic.com.

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