Edgewater, FL - The results are in and the Edgewater City Council has a new member, filling a seat which came open after a turbulent few months which saw the City Manager fired in a controversial vote and the city's Public Safety Chief resign in the midst of an internal investigation.
After the departure of council member Amy Vogt in January, the City of Edgewater announced that a special election would be held to fill her spot.
That election would involve Kimberly "Kim" Klein-Yaney, Jennifer Parker, and former Edgewater council member Gigi Bennington.
If one of the three secured more than 50% of the vote, they would automatically win the spot.
But, that wouldn't be the case after Yaney and Parker came within a slim margin of each other at 42.5% of the vote and 38.2% of the vote, respectively, leaving Bennington with 19.3%.
That ended up leading the election to an April runoff.
Following the polls closing last night (April 2nd), it was clear that there was a winner.
"We're so excited that we were able to get more voters out in the general election than in the primary," said Yaney. "Our team is super excited over the results of this campaign."
Yaney says that she wants to bring transparency, professionalism and her business experience with her to the council.
Some of her plans include expanding the tax base for Edgewater and streamlining communication between the city government and its residents, a problem she says they currently struggle with.
She also took some time to speak about her opponent, Parker.
"(She) did a wonderful job as a two-year resident up against a 34-year resident," said Yaney. "She brought awareness to the community and she has actually involved a younger demographic which is important to the city."
Yaney also said she believes Parker has a lot to offer and hopes she will run again in the future.
