Matt Brenk defeated challenger Paul Murray to win his fourth term as mayor of Detroit Lakes.
Brenk won 58% of the vote between Detroit Lakes' three precincts to Murray's 41%, a difference of 821 votes.
In response to a pre-election questionnaire, Brenk said, " I love Detroit Lakes – this has been my home for the past 60 years – and I want to continue to help make it the best city that it can be."
Murray said while it's disappointing losing the race, he's grateful for the support that he did receive.
"I want to thank everybody from bottom of my heart," Murray said. "I had a lot of fun and I'm kind of shocked, in a way, because I thought I had a really good chance . . . but the (821 vote difference) ain't bad."
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He also said the experience of running for mayor was positive one and wouldn't rule out the prospect of running for office again in the future.
In the contested Detroit Lakes City Council races, Jamie Marks-Erickson, running in the Ward 2 special election for a two-year term, defeated challenger Rick Johnson with 64% of the vote.
Marks-Erickson confessed she hadn't been paying attention to her own race, but was gracious upon hearing news of her win.
"Truthfully, it seems like there's kind of a bigger election than mine tonight," said Marks-Erickson. "I really appreciate being reelected and will do my best for another two years."
Incumbent Ward 3 council member Daniel Josephson fended off challenger Aaron Colby by a difference of 57 votes, receiving 51.5% to Colby's 48.2%.
In a pre-election questionnaire, Josephson said: " I have always had the approach of if you want change to happen you need to show up and help make that change. Moving forward, I would be honored to be able to represent Ward Three for another four years to help our community grow and evolve into the future we can all be proud to call home."
Running in unopposed races for Detroit Lakes City Council, the at-large city council seat left by retiring alderman Bruce Imholte, will be filled by Aaron Dallmann. Additionally, Ron Zeman, Ward 1 alderman, won reelection in another unopposed race, while newcomer Wendy Spry, also running unopposed, will represent Ward 2 for the next four years.
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