by Tammy Kranz
Staff Writer

Although an existing City Council member didn't win the mayoral race, voters did favor the incumbents for the ward contests.

Eva Henry, Ward 2, and Beth Humenik, Ward 3, beat out their opponents to retain their seats on the council.

"I think the voters see the need for experience – people who are really out there pounding the pavement and working hard for them," Humenik said while celebrating her victory with fellow Republicans at Outback Steakhouse Tuesday night. She added her reelection was a vote of support. "It shows people think our city is headed in the right direction."

Humenik garnered 63.79 percent of the vote (2,799) while her opponent, Sam Nizam, received 36.21 percent (1,589).

Nizam, who originally hails from Syria, was gracious for the chance to run in the election.

"It's an honor to be able to run," he said. "I really appreciate the opportunity to be on the ballot."

This was Nizam's first, and more than likely last, time he'll run for office.

"I am a lot more appreciative for people who run for office – it's a lot of work," he said, adding he met a lot of great people during his campaign.

Henry won in a landslide against her opponent – she received 73.73 percent (2,374) of the vote. Her reaction could be summed up in one word, she said Wednesday morning – "Whew!"

"I think people can take an actual lesson from people in Ward 2 – they didn't vote the party line, they voted for issues that mattered to them," Henry said. She added that municipal elections were becoming partisan and she didn't run her campaign that way. Instead, she said, she went out and met people and got support from both parties in her district.

Henry's opponent, Richard Gianzero garnered 26.27 percent (846) of the votes, which he thought was pretty good his first time around.

"(Henry) had four years and a year to run her campaign," said Gianzero, who was also at Outback with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night. "I got in the race in September and did fairly well as a newcomer."

He said he was seriously considering running again for council.

Ward 1 will see a new face as its representative – Jenice "JJ" Dove edged out opponent Lee Cantu with 68.18 percent, or 1,461, of the votes.

"I think I had more name recognition than Lee and voters are ready for a change," said Dove on Wednesday morning. "I don't have an agenda. I want to work with the City Council we have. We face a lot of issues, bringing in businesses to the city, FasTracks. I want to jump right in there."

This was Dove's second time running for the seat. She and her supporters gathered at Old Chicago in Thornton to watch the results come in.

Cantu received 31.82 percent (682) of the vote. He congratulated Dove on her victory, saying, "I hope she does well with the running of the government."

This was Cantu's first time running for office and he said he would probably run again in the future.

Eric Tade, who ran unopposed for the Ward 4 seat, received 3,530 votes.

The newly elected council members will be sworn in at the next regular council meeting on Nov. 15.