By Judy Seifert (Contact / Staff Bio)
November 7, 2009 - 08:51 a.m. EST

VASSAR — Voters must have decided it was time for some change in the city. The two top vote-getters in Tuesday’s City Council election are newcomers to city politics.

Dan Stedry received 200 votes, Assistant Fire Chief Ted Gamet garnered 186 and incumbent Henry Hornung returns with 164 votes.

Stedry gets the one four-year term seat, while Gamet and Hornung will serve for two years.

Pleased with the outcome, Stedry said he’s bringing new ideas to the table, “ideas that don’t involve raising taxes yet help our lives.”

Stedry also wants to move beyond some of the negatives.

“We need to work together to accomplish things,” he added.

Gamet, the Assistant Fire Chief for the City of Vassar, said he decided several years ago to get more involved in the city’s affairs.

“I started attending meetings and listening to the problems. I feel the time is right for me to start giving back to the community, making Vassar a better place to live and raise a family,” he said.

Henry Hornung’s decision to run again was simply because he felt his first two years had gone unfulfilled.

“The current council was stagnant. We need to move forward, get past pettiness and spitefulness,” he said. “The new council needs to be pro-active, aggressive, thoughtful. We need to get things done, not just talk about it.”

Nine candidates ran for the three seats. Results for the remaining candidates: Brandon Frank, 143;

Faye Hembling, 112; Judy Adams, 107; Pat Gawne, 35; Robert Curtis, 30; Barry Schweitzer, 4.

The new council members will be sworn in at the council’s next meeting, Dec. 7.