Five Incumbents and Two Newcomers Take the Mayor and Council Seats in Riverdale Park

The results of Monday's election in Riverdale Park were not a surprise since the election was uncontested in every ward and for the mayoral seat.

What was suprising was the low percentage of voters who turned out to cast ballots for the day.

Out of the 2,461 registered voters in town only 189 voters cast their ballots. That's 7.67 percent of the registered voters. And it doesn't account for the actual population of the town, which was estimated around 6,500 in the last American Community Survey in 2009.

Chief Election Judge Kay Marcos said although the total number of voters may seem low, it's not terrible for an uncontested election.

"In the last contested election, we had 220 votes cast," Marcos said.

Councilman David Lingua (Ward 3) said during Monday's legislative meeting that he was hoping for a contested race and that more voters would turn out.

"It’s a bit of a concern not to have opposition," Lingua said. "I hope it’s not a sign of folks being apathetic."

Councilman Raymond Rivas (Ward 5) said he hopes to have more registered voters in the area by the next election. Many of the registered voters he counted on in previous elections had moved out of the ward, Rivas said.

Prior to the election, Rivas had started to look into local voting rights for non-U.S. citizens who live within town limits. No movement has been made on this, and he continues to look into the issue.

Both women on the town's council, Keelah Allen Smith (Ward 6) and Alice Ewen (Ward 1), are on their way out. Taking their places are two men, Alejandro Silva (Ward 6) and Jonathan Ebbeler (Ward 1), making the new council an all boys club.

Silva needed 15 write-in votes to qualify to be on council, and he receieved 16.

The new council will show its colors as budget season arrives with seasoned veterans Mayor Vernon Archer, Alan Thompson (Ward 2), David Lingua (Ward 3), Chris Henry (Ward 4) and Raymond Rivas (Ward 5).

Their first meeting together will be a work session on May 31.

Read how the election unfolded Monday. 

A breakdown of the votes: