Republican Dan Canan won a third term as Muncie's mayor Tuesdaynight — the first person to do so in more than a century.
Muncie has not elected a mayor for a third term since the late1800s, and the voters' anxiety to break with tradition showed inthe polls: Canan defeated Democratic-challenger Dennis Tyler by 453votes. It was the closest win of his three campaigns for mayor.
"I have felt all day that it was going to be a very-close race,"Canan said.
Because of the close margin, Tyler said his defeat was not atotal loss.
"Of course I'm sad," Tyler said, "but where we came from inJanuary to where we ended up, I think it's pretty evident there area lot of issues out there that the mayor's going to have to dealwith."
Canan joined members of his party at the Knights of Columbus onthe north side of Muncie. Tyler waited at Democratic Headquartersdowntown as numbers came in from the precincts.
The mayor concentrated all night on the screen, where volunteersdisplayed the incoming results.
The lead changed over and over again, but Canan's expressionremained the same. He hardly smiled.
"I was as nervous as I've ever been," Canan said. "My wife wasvery confident. I was nervous."
Meanwhile, an equally nervous Tyler kept a straight face andwaited with his family while the precinct numbers were announced.When it was over, family and friends sat quietly with Tyler, givinghim comforting hugs and holding back tears.
"I'm heart broken," Tyler's daughter Amy Mcelfresh said. "He'smy hero and was the best candidate."
The race was close because the weather brought out more voters,most of whom are Democrats in Muncie, Jonna Reece, Canan's campaignmanager, said.
Despite the candidates' jitters and the lack of a clear leaderfor most of the night, supporters showed confidence. Halfwaythrough the night, Kaye Whitehead, the chairwoman of DelawareCounty's Republican party, pointed out that many Republicanprecincts had not come in.
Meanwhile, at Democratic Headquarters, optimists kept remindingTyler about the Democratic precincts that had not returned.
"The predictions were it would either be a blowout or it wouldbe a very close race," Whitehead said.
Later in the night, as numbers continued to arrive, Canan slowlypulled ahead, and most of the strong Democratic precincts had comein.
"They're running out of ammo," Reece told the crowd.
Seconds before the official results came in, Reece hung up hercell phone, looked at the mayor and said, "You won by 500votes."
When it was official, the crowd cheered; Canan hugged his wifeand children, and he shook almost every hand in the room.
In his victory speech, he said he could not have won without thehelp of his family, his staff and the volunteers who helped withthe campaign.
Later, he said, he will begin to plan long-term once again forMuncie. He said he would immediately continue work with theSouth-Side Redevelopment Commission.
Once those four years are up, though, Canan might refrain fromtempting history again. The mayor would not say definitively if hewill run for a fourth term, but Reece, who has managed hiscampaigns, said Canan told her that he would not run again.
Tyler, meanwhile, will not forget Tuesday night.
"In four years, we will take City Hall back," Tyler said. "Iwant to be your candidate in 2007 and walk into City Hall Jan. 1,2008."
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