In Tuesday’s primary election, incumbent Lebanon city mayor Sherry Capello secured the Republican nomination for a fifth term.
Unofficial results show that Capello received 840 votes by city residents: 688 on election day and 152 in mail-in or absentee ballots.
“I am very pleased and humbled by the results of today’s Primary Election,” said Capello in an email Tuesday night. “I was able to obtain 74% of the votes cast, which is a strong indicator that we are on the right path.”
Capello’s statement emphasized her financial record while suggesting future focus on revitalizing downtown Lebanon.
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“When I first began my tenure with the city, I inherited a city on the verge of bankruptcy,” she said. “We have been able to address the deficits and restore fiscal stability to the city while making improvements to our streets, streetscape, parks, playgrounds and connector trails. In addition, private funding is being invested in many commercial and residential properties. However, we still have work to do. If I succeed in the General Election, I will continue to work on revitalizing the downtown, create a housing strategy to address the housing shortage at all income levels and continue to keep our local taxes low.”
Read More: Lebanon mayor Sherry Capello seeks fifth term, touts decade without tax hikes
Opponent Damian Vargas received 177 votes, and there were 125 write-in votes, though the names written in have not been released. Vargas was unavailable for comment Tuesday evening.
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Sharon Zook, who ran a write-in campaign after being disqualified from the Republican race due to invalid signatures, said whether she chooses to run again in the future will depend on circumstances.
“It was kind of an interesting experience talking to people, seeing what their concerns were, and seeing if they cared enough to write in,” said Zook over the phone Tuesday. “I think it’s great there’s people who got involved with the election through this.”
In the November general election, Capello will face off against Democratic nominee Cesar Liriano, who received 552 votes in the Democratic primary, with no official opposition and 59 write-in votes.
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