Estes Reelected, Three New City Commissioners

Mayor Michael Estes has been elected to serve another term in office and three new commissioners will be sworn into the Traverse City commission, according to last night's unofficial city election results. With all precincts reporting, Estes had 2,108 total votes compared to opponent Rick Buckhalter's 1,369 votes, with write-in candidates earning 215 votes. Of the three winning commission candidates, Ross Richardson took the lead with 2,071 votes, while Tim Werner earned 1,875 votes and Gary Howe claimed 1,832 votes. Incumbent Jody Bergman lost her seat in fifth place just nine votes behind Jan Warren's fourth place 1,500 total.

Traverse City voter turnout was at approximately 34 percent this year, with 4,176 of 12,298 registered voters coming out to the polls. As of press time last night, the city had not yet released vote totals for the Grand Traverse County Road Commission or Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) millage proposals; check The Ticker's Facebook page for updates.