William ‘Bill’ Kreisher snatched away any chance of redemption from former mayor Eric Bower Tuesday, as voters spurned the Democrat who resigned a year ago while facing criminal allegations. The unofficial polls show a recorded 1,352 votes, which saw 770 going to Kreisher. This indicates a significant majority vote going to Kreisher, taking 56.95% of the votes. It is also relevant to include the remaining 32 votes or 2.37% came from write-ins.

Kreisher is a republican with a Juris Doctorate Degree from Dickinson School of Law. A former town council member, Kreisher took up the position of mayor from town council when formerly elected mayor Eric Bower stepped down following his arrest for charges of soliciting a prostitute this past April. Some of Kreisher’s biggest talking points at the recent town hall forum at the Kehr Ballroom on Oct. 22 were about parking and Block Party.

Parking has been identified as a priority for Kreisher in which he said, “I want to open up more parking for the general public, including all students. There are enough places to park, they are just not available because of permit restrictions.” This may have given Kreisher the edge among student voters.

Bower is a 37-year-old Democrat with an education from the Community College of the Air Force with Information Technology and Military Training and Pennsylvania ACT 49- State Constable Training. Despite winning the last mayoral race, Bower stepping down certainly was a concern for voters.

For the three four-year council positions, candidate Vince DeMelfi earned the most votes with 896, winning 24.55% of the vote. DeMelfi is a 65-year-old Democrat with a B.A. and M. A. from Bloomsburg University. The second-place spot was narrowly won by Democrat Jim Huber, who earned 22.44% of the vote with his 819 votes. Huber is another Bloomsburg native with a B.A. and M.A. from Bloomsburg University. In third place was candidate Toni Bell. Bell is a 49-year-old Democrat with a PhD. from the University of Louisville. She earned 22.38% of the vote with 817 votes cast for her.

The remaining votes for town council went to candidates Jared Harris and Carey Howell. Howell is a Republican who earned fourth place position with 15.23% of the vote. In last place was candidate Jared Harris. Harris fell slightly behind Howell and earned 14.82% of the vote. These results indicate a clear victory for the Democratic Party.

The remaining position to be decided in the election was the final town council seat. This seat is a two-year position compared to a four-year term. DeMelfi went up against Howell, with DeMelfi winning the seat in a landslide victory with 56.25% of the vote. Howell followed behind at 42.85%, and write-ins made up the last .90%.

With DeMelfi winning both the four-year and two-year seat for town council, it is likely that he will accept the four-year seat and defer the two-year seat to Howell. This is simply speculation, and it is up to the town of Bloomsburg to decide.

Editors Note: Last week we published a voter guide for this years local election. We miss-printed information regarding Councilmen Huber. We published that he graduated from Bloomsburg University with a Masters Degree. He graduated the University of Delaware with a Masters in Urban Affairs and Sociology and then went on to graduate from Penn State University with a doctorates in sociology.