Clifton council gets one new member
By Layla Wilder
With only four candidates on the ballot for Clifton's five-member Town Council, the four incumbents seeking re-election succeeded.Mayor Tom Peterson also won re-election, getting 55 votes in an election that drew 72 people to the polls in the tiny western Fairfax County town.
Deborah Dillard, a nine-year resident of Clifton and an author and astrologer, was chosen as the council's newest member. She won a write-in campaign for the fifth seat with 27 write-in votes, said Roky Suleman, general registrar at the Fairfax County Office of Elections.
Dillard “is going to do a great job,” Peterson said.
Councilman Michael Anton received the most number of votes – 65.
“I was flattered,” he said. “It says people are happy with what I've been doing.” Anton has been primarily working on creating a master plan for the town's streets.
The last time the town held elections, residents chose all new officials, including former mayor Wayne Nickum and former council member Pat Layden. They won re-election this year with 55 and 58 votes respectively, according to unofficial results from the Fairfax County's Office of Elections.
Chuck Rusnak, who got 48 votes, says the low turnout was probably due to little competition.
The challenge for the council in the next two years will be to decide what emphasis it will place boosting town businesses.
Council members will be looking for citizens to “step up and say whether they want more businesses or the town to remain residential,” Rusnak said.
Lane Johnson was the only incumbent who decided not to seek re-election this year.