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The town of Cheverly welcomes three new council members to open seats, while one incumbent was elected to serve her first full term after approximately 600 voters came out Monday to cast their ballots, according to Cheverly election judge Robin Kaye.

Mary Jane Coolen won the town's most contested race in Ward 2 with 120 votes. Coming in second was John LeGloahec with 76 votes, followed by Rachel Audi with 70 and John Dotson with one. The seat was open after Ward 2 Councilman Micah Watson, who served since 2004, decided not to run for another term.

Coolen said her first orders of business are to review the proposed fiscal 2012 budget and to door knock once more to not only thank constituents for their vote but to listen to any concerns they have.

"It took all those people to put me into office," Coolen said. "I'm going to make sure they have a voice."

Newcomer David W. Thorpe won the open Ward 4 seat with 91 votes, compared with former councilman Fred Price Jr.'s 14 votes and Steven Wayne Johnson's seven votes. Thorpe was endorsed by outgoing Ward 4 councilman Leon Schachter.

"I was very overwhelmed by the support that I got," Thorpe said. "It was really touching."

Thorpe said he already has two issues to make headway on starting Tuesday: A dead tree in a Ward 4 resident's yard that is threatening to fall over and another three whose roots have grown into a resident's yard and prevent grass growth. His overall goal is to find ways to unify the older section of Ward 4 with the newer section that is west of U.S. Route 50.

Current Ward 1 councilwoman Laila Riazi won her race against challenger Preston White, by a count of 95 votes to 16. Riazi was appointed in May to fill the seat Mayor Michael Callahan vacated after he won election as mayor last year. There was also one write-in vote apiece for residents Ted Lemanski, Steve Martin, Molly Monahan and for Audi even though she was a Ward 2 candidate.

Riazi said the first order of business will be the town's fiscal 2012 budget. She said she feels honored to have her ward's vote and said she takes it very seriously.

"They really evaluated me for the service that was rendered to the ward and that felt good," Riazi said.

In the Ward 6 race, Carolyn Cook is the newest councilwoman, with 49 votes compared with Velinda Mays-Carter's 25 votes. Resident Blessing Amobi received two votes as a write-in candidate.

There were no candidates for Ward 5. That ward comprises apartment complexes and has been traditionally a difficult seat for the town to fill. It was vacant before this election.

Kaye said the turnout was typical for a council election.

"We normally see the higher numbers for mayor elections, but for town council this is average," he said.

nmcgill@gazette.net