In voting for three incumbents — Mike Anderson, Carl Anduri and Carol Federighi — Lafayette voters sent the message that the city is on the right track, re-elected City Council members said.
"It indicates an overall sense of satisfaction with what the council is doing," Anderson said.
Anduri agreed. "I feel good about the direction the city is going. People weren't buying what the challenger was saying about the concerns. I think the people who know the facts know the city is on the right track."
Gabriel Froymovich, who campaigned on the platform that the city needed to be more careful with its expenditures, said he accomplished his goal to bring attention and accountability to the council's actions.
He offers his congratulations to the winners and said he planned to stay active in city politics. He hopes to take a leadership role in the Lafayette Taxpayers' Association, he said.
"My supporters did a good job of turning a situation where I wasn't running for City Council, and probably less than 25 people in Lafayette even knew who I was, into a situation where I got my message out to thousands of people," Froymovich said.
Federighi said contested elections are healthy for democracy, if time-consuming.
"It makes all of us focus on what is really important to us and try to communicate our messages to the community," Federighi said. "It also gives us a chance to hear what our residents are concerned Advertisementabout."
Anderson, who before this year had never run in a contested election, said campaigning served a purpose.
"It clarifies sharpens your positions on things," Anderson said. Laughing, he added "It's a valuable exercise but I wouldn't recommend it if you don't need to do it."
In the long run, the council has been relatively stable. Vice Mayor Don Tatzin, who was not up for re-election, has served on the council for 23 years.
"I don't believe we've had an incumbent lose for ... more than 30 years," Federighi said. "Some might say that is indicative of voter apathy; I don't think that's the case. I think a lot of citizens are very involved in the community."
An important part is having a council that works well together, the incumbents said.
"We are very fortunate in having a council whose members respect one another and who are able to work well together, and I think that comes across to the public," Federighi said. "We understand that we can agree to disagree."
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