Four newcomers join board

By Jeff Simms

Despite the cold and rain, turnout for the Nov. 7 election in Beacon was up significantly from 2015, with hundreds more residents casting votes. (Countywide the turnout was 38 percent.) It was more than enough to buoy the Democrats, who easily won all six council seats, in four cases by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

On election night, Beacon Democrats celebrate their sweep of the county legislative and Beacon City Council races. (Photo by J. Simms)

The two incumbents on the ballot, at-large members George Mansfield and Lee Kyriacou, were re-elected with 44 and 42 percent of the vote. Republican challenger Amando Downer, who was ill during the campaign and did not appear at a forum in October, received 13.5 percent.

From the wards, Democrats Terry Nelson (1), John Rembert (2), Jodi McCredo (3) and Amber Grant (4), all first-time candidates, each won by wide margins.

Kyriacou, who was elected to his ninth term overall, said the mix of four newcomers and two veterans (Mansfield was elected for a fifth term) will allow for healthy debate.

“The new members are going to bring quick learning and hard questions,” he said. “That’s going to be good, because when we’re all in consensus, I think we expose ourselves to making mistakes.”

McCredo, one of the founders of the Advocates for Beacon Schools, said voters were looking for candidates they felt they could trust.

“This election was all about who you spoke with and who you established that personal connection with,” she said. “That made all the difference.”

Beacon City Council Results (4-year term)

At-Large (two seats)

George Mansfield (D) – 2,559 (44%)
Lee Kyriacou (D) – 2,428 (42%)
Amando Downer (R) – 783 (13%)

Ward 1

Terry Nelson (D) -488 (59%)
Wayne Theiss (R) – 261 (31%)
Paul Yeaple (Green) – 83 (10%)

Ward 2

John Rembert (D) – 595 (81%)
Omar Harper (R) – 137 (19%)

Ward 3

Jodi McCredo (D) – 500 (60%)
Andrew Gauzza III (R) – 333 (40%)

Ward 4

Amber Grant (D) – 657 (70%)
Christopher Bopp (R) – 274 (29%)

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Simms has covered Beacon for The Current since 2015. He studied journalism at Appalachian State University and has reported for newspapers in North Carolina and Maryland. Location: Beacon. Languages: English. Area of expertise: Beacon politics

7 replies on “Democrats Sweep Beacon Council Election”

  1. I expect Beacon will be broke in five to six years. The largest employers here are the school district, the city, Key Food and the Dollar Store. We have become a suitcase city with nothing but tourism. I will remind everyone that Beacon’s vision did not start last year. This climate is not sustainable, taxes upon taxes will be the reason we fall. We do not need more parks, bike trails or any more street closings for variety fairs.

    The newcomers’ challenge will and should be sustainable income, not continued division. This is not old Beacon vs. new Beacon. Anyone with that mindset is the reason we will continue to clash and you should leave. As long as we are here, we are all Beacon. Stop opening your car doors into oncoming traffic, and we’ll get along just fine. Just saying…

  2. What concerns me, as a resident of Beacon since 2001, is that the city is slowly becoming gentrified. Affordable housing just doesn’t exist anymore. When you have developers selling condominiums for $500,000 to $1 million to the very few who can afford it, this has a cascading effect and makes other properties in close proximity very expensive.

    My other gripe is the architectural aesthetic of Main Street is being destroyed. Case in point, the new three-story apartment dwelling being built adjacent to the Beacon Natural Market. It doesn’t fit. But nothing will change. We are blinded by the almighty dollar.

    1. Amen to this comment. It is a most pernicious process you have described. And unless I am mistaken I have heard little of substance and no sagacity from any major political party candidate to address this issue. It’s like an entire city is being booked on the Titanic: there is an insufficient number of lifeboats for the “unsinkable” ship, and if and when it does hit an iceberg and goes down of course those lifeboats will be mostly taken by a fraction of the first-class passengers. Mark my words: a disaster of monumental, even fantastic proportions is building.

  3. Old Beacon vs. New Beacon is getting old. We all have better things to do with our time — like working together to make a better community for every single one of us.

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