Fewer than one thousand voters turned out for West Lafayette’s single contested primary election race on Tuesday.
Four Democrats squared off over three at-large seats for the West Lafayette City Council. Voters could cast a vote for three of the four city council candidates.
Bellisario was the lone newcomer, facing current councilors David Sanders, James Blanco, and Gerald Thomas. Thomas will not keep his seat on the council.
Before the results came in, Bellisario joked that she was “really ready to lose.”
She said the win came as a surprise.
“I’ve been planning this for a while, and I’ve really been trying to build up to this point, and I’m really excited to be here and feel like all the work I put in the last couple of months really paid off,” she said.
Blanco, who took the second most votes, said his voter outreach shows in the vote totals.
“Iris and me, we really just knocked the doors and it really showed,” he said.
West Lafayette City Council president Peter Bunder said all of the four candidates were great.
“But I’m so excited that Iris finished first,” he said. “I hope it helps us get younger – I hope we can get more women involved in government. I think that’s a great thing.”
As votes came in, councilors Sanders and Thomas were neck and neck for last place. Sanders ultimately won by 12 votes.
In a brief statement, Thomas congratulated Bellisario and said he was pleased to have served the citizens of West Lafayette “to the best of my ability for 16 years.”
“Iris will be a wonderful addition to the council. I have always supported female representation,” he wrote. “West Lafayette is a wonderful city to live in and serve in.”
Sanders said he was happy to see Bellisario’s success.
“The other thing is that city council is going to be greatly missing the wisdom of Gerald Thomas,” he said.
Overall, Sanders worried about the primary’s low voter turnout.
“The turnout was very, very disappointing,” he said. “I don’t think that bodes well for our election, our democracy, and I’m a little concerned about what it says about the Democratic party as well.”
At the polls, voters largely underscored that they voted for the candidates who were most visible in the community.
Voters Jensen and Thomas Quinn say they came out in support of Blanco – because he knocked on their door.
“His elevator pitch was – he was one of the only people on the council who was a renter,” Thomas said.
Both Thomas and Jensen agreed they hadn’t voted for Thomas because they hadn’t seen as many signs for the councilor as they had for Sanders.
Jace Ditto said his roommate got him to vote. He cast a ballot for Bellisario.
“I actually didn’t know that voting was actually happening today,” he said. “ Last minute, my roommate was like ‘Hey, we’re going to vote.’ It’s the least we could do, right?”
All told some 847 votes were cast during this primary election: roughly 3.77 percent of registered voters in West Lafayette, according to Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush.
Preliminary vote totals for the West Lafayette primary
West Lafayette Mayor
Erin Easter 669
West Lafayette City Council At Large
Iris O’Donnell Bellisario 715
James Blanco 627
David A. Sanders 479
Gerald Thomas 467
West Lafayette City Council District 2
Michelle Dennis 182
West Lafayette City Council District 4
Larry J. Leverenz 201
West Lafayette City Council District 5
Kathy Parker 241
West Lafayette City Council District 6
Stacey Baitinger Burr 31
West Lafayette City Clerk
Sana G. Booker 669
