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BELPRE -- After a decade as a member of Belpre City Council, Susan Abdella is preparing to step into her new role as mayor.
"I'm just very excited," said Abdella, a retired health care administrator who was elected Tuesday night from a field of four candidates. "I was surprised. I was humbled. I'm just overwhelmed. ... There were several good candidates running."
In Tuesday's unofficial results, Abdella, a Republican, received 940 votes, followed by independent candidate James E. Nelson with 514, Democrat Romel Henderson with 380 and Councilman Alan Millhone, a Republican also running as an independent, with 188.
Abdella served on council from 2008 to 2017 and was appointed to a vacant at-large council seat in December.
She said she learned of the results at home Tuesday night with several other candidates. She and the council members elected are "looking forward to the new adventure we're all going to take together."
Abdella said she plans to work with the current city leadership to assure a smooth transition, noting the budget process for next year is already underway.
She'll be collaborating on that with Mayor Mike Lorentz, who opted not to run for a fifth consecutive term. Instead, he threw his hat in the ring for one of three at-large council seats but finished fourth in Tuesday's balloting.
"I'm OK with it," said Lorentz, a Democrat who garnered 829 votes, putting him behind incumbent Councilman David E. Ferguson (1,072), newcomer Nathaniel S. Godfrey (1,047) and former Councilwoman Penne L. Riffle (963), all Republicans.
Lorentz said he had lunch Wednesday with Godfrey, the youngest candidate in the race at 24.
"I think the young man that's going on there now is going to do a good job, be an asset to the city," he said.
Godfrey said he's excited about joining the council.
"I think from what the votes were, you could tell people were wanting a change," he said.
Ferguson said he was surprised to be the top vote-getter with the former mayor on the ballot.
"I was shocked that the race turned out the way it did," said Ferguson, who has served multiple terms on council before and after a seven-year stint as the city's safety-service director.
Riffle said she's excited about the incoming council and administration and believes that even though they might disagree at times, they have the same goals and hopes for the city.
"I look forward to a cohesive unit, I think, going in and getting it done," she said.
Councilwoman Lyndsay Dennis was unopposed in her bid for reelection to the Third Ward seat, while fellow Republican John Ambrozy faced no challenger in the general election after defeating incumbent Steve Null in the primary for the Fourth Ward.
Republican William Locke returns to council in the First Ward seat, receiving 340 votes to 18 write-ins. Alexandra Lowe was the only certified write-in candidate in that race. Locke could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Two first-time write-in candidates were vying for the Second Ward seat. Rick Seebaugh defeated Erica Campbell 43-30, according to final, unofficial results from the Washington County Board of Elections.
Seebaugh said he'd been "armchair quarterbacking" city government for a while and now he's "really excited to get in there, give it a shot."
Larry Lorentz, a retired educator and former city treasurer, was elected to the Belpre City Schools Board of Education along with incumbent Cathy O'Donnell, receiving 1,395 and 1,348 votes, respectively, for the two open seats. Frank Meredith IV finished third with 1,015.
"I really feel honored that that many people value education and looked at what Larry and I stand for," O'Donnell said, adding they are both in favor of constructing new schools for the district.
Voters have rejected three proposed bond issues to finance the construction of new school facilities on a single campus for the district.
Lorentz did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.