GOP wins 2 seats; Dems take 1

One vote separated the top two winners in the County Council at-large race. \nDemocrat Scott Wells took the first of three open seats on the council, followed by Republicans Jeff Ellington and Doug Duncan. \nWells said he believes it was his straight-talking campaign that stood out in the minds of Monroe County voters at the polls.\n"When I find the truth and the facts, I bite like a bulldog and won't let go," he said. "What (the outcome) tells me is about the way I campaigned ... I told the truth -- and the truth burns, baby, burns."\nWells said his main goal now that he is in office is to relieve the tax burden on residents by assigning more financial responsibility to developers in the community.\n"Developers have a stranglehold on this community," he said. "It's not fair to the average person on a fixed income."\nIncumbent Ellington said the first thing he wants to do is move forward with some plans about cleaning up papers and record problems.\n"I want to save county space by having a records facility," Ellington said. "I also want to try to put more deputies on the road and get back to improving basic services."\nHe also said he was a little disappointed that all three Republican candidates didn't win because he had tried to get the message out that all three Republicans needed to win. Duncan edged out Republican Randy May by 25 votes. \n "It was a tight race and disappointing, but not the end of the world," May said. "I plan to stay involved by supporting other candidates, and I'll probably run again, though. What's funny is that (Democrat) Julio Alonso and I were both incumbents, and we both lost."\n Duncan said he might have stood out because he spent a lot of time knocking on people's doors and learning about their concerns.\n "Everyone was so nice, and I think I made a lot of new friends," Duncan said. "But I've got a lot to learn now. I'll have to spend the first few months getting up to speed on the issues and spend some time doing my homework."\nDemocrat Charles Wilson said that he is disappointed with his loss and that he should've probably done more during his campaign.\nBut being a complete unknown before the campaign, Wilson said he is happy with the support he found in the community and plans to run again in the future.\n"I'm totally impressed," he said. "I want to thank the voters of Monroe County for having so much faith in me."\nAlonso was not available for comment at press time.\nWells led the final count with 17,611 votes next to Ellington's 17,610. Duncan had 17,575, May received 17,550 and Alonso finished with 16,987. Wilson pulled in 16,204 votes.