Politics & Government

Maxwell Wins Another Term as Mayor

The incumbent defeated Garold Healy 703-235.

Mayor Gene Maxwell will be back for another term—winning a resounding 703 votes of 940 cast, or nearly 75 percent of the total.

"I think the people in Hopkins, they're satisfied where the city's going," said Maxwell, who's been mayor since 2000 and served on the council between 1993 and 2000. "It just shows a stable city."

Maxwell is accompanied in victory by City Council candidates who came up through the city ranks—Zoning and Planning and Park Board—and should share a similar vision for the city. Although two longtime members after opting not to run, Maxwell expects the new council and city staff to continue moving forward.

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"We'll really be on the same page when we're up and running," he said.

Mayoral challenger Garold Healy sees continuity in the voters' choices: "I think there's a certain group that's pretty well solidified in the city, and it is what it is."

Find out what's happening in Hopkinswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Healy said his whole intent in running was to raise awareness and get more people involved. Yet he found little opportunity to "raise the level of conversation." The election forums allowed candidates to answer questions but not truly debate. Events like Patch's were ill attended, and it's not clear how many watched the candidate forum.

Healy and many of the candidates were disappointed in voter turnout and saw it as an example of the difficulty in boosting resident involvement. The mayoral race had 940 votes cast—low but more than the 861 cast in 2009.

"People have a right to vote, and they don't use it," he said. "It's a shame."

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Hopkins Mayoral Results

Candidate Votes Percent Garold Healy 235 25 Gene Maxwell 703 74.8 Write-in 2 .2


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