Rockville Election Results: Voters Elect Newton as Mayor

UPDATED
Rockville residents elected Bridget Newton as the City’s newest mayor on Nov. 5, giving her 3,508 votes, or 53 percent of the total.

Four councilmembers were also elected: Julie Palakovich Carr, Virginia Onley, Tom Moore and Beryl L. Feinberg. Election results will become official on Nov. 12.

Newton served two terms as a Councilmember before seeking the office of mayor. Two-term councilmember Mark Pierzchala received 3,086 votes for mayor, or about 47 percent of the vote.

The four new councilmembers received the following vote totals:

Julie Palakovich Carr, 4,308 (18.7 percent)
Virginia Onley, 4,063 (17.6 percent)
Tom Moore, 4,035 (17.5 percent)
Beryl L. Feinberg, 3,698 (16 percent)
Moore was elected to his second term as a councilmember.

Two additional candidates ran for council and received the following votes:
Donald H. (Don) Hadley, 3,610 (15.6 percent)
Claire Marcuccio Whitaker, 3,167 (13.7 percent)

Of the 40,226 registered voters in Rockville, there was a total of 6,685 votes cast (16.6 percent) in 10 voting districts throughout the city, as well as those of same-day voter registrations and absentee ballots. Elections are nonpartisan and held every two years.

Rockville residents also had a chance to share their opinions about potential changes to the City charter at the election. The three advisory referendum questions and their outcomes were:

(1) In the City of Rockville, the term of office for the Mayor and the Councilmembers is currently two years. Do you favor increasing the term from two years to four years?
Yes — 3,548 (53.54%)
No — 2,848 (42.98%)
No opinion – 231 (3.49%)

(2) City of Rockville elections are currently held every two years, in odd numbered years. Do you favor moving the City elections to be held every four years to coincide with the Presidential Election?
Yes — 2,767 (41.91%)
No — 3,530 (53.47%)
No opinion — 305 (4.62%)

(3) The City of Rockville is currently governed by a Mayor and four Councilmembers. Do you favor increasing the membership of the Rockville Mayor and Council to a mayor and six councilmembers?
Yes — 2,843 (42.91%)
No — 3,345 (50.49%)
No opinion — 437 (6.60%)

Future Mayor and Councils may consider the outcome of these advisory referendum questions but are not required to change the charter in response to the votes. The questions were recommended for the ballot by the City’s Charter Review Commission, which presented a report to the Mayor and Council in January.

All results are posted on the City’s website, www.rockvillemd.gov. Rockville 11 (Cable Channel 11) will air a post-election show shortly after the election.

This was the 64th election in the City of Rockville. The new Mayor and Council will be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony at 1 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 603 Edmonston Dr. The first meeting of the new Mayor and Council is at 7 p.m. on Nov. 18 at City Hall, 111 Maryland Ave.

ORIGINAL POST

There’s a new Mayor in Rockville. Bridget Newton has been elected Mayor, according to unofficial election results. The city’s new Council members are Beryl Feinberg, Tom Moore, Virginia Onley and Julie Palakovich Carr.

Rockville has posted unofficial election results on its websites. See below:

Mayor

Bridget Newton
3508 53.06
Mark Pierzchala
3086 46.68

Council

Beryl L. Feinberg
3698 16.01
Donald H. (Don) Hadley
3610 15.63
Tom Moore
4035 17.47
Virginia Onley
4063 17.60
Julie Palakovich Carr
4308 18.66
Claire Marcuccio Whitaker
3167 13.72

Advisory Referendum Question Results

(1) In the City of Rockville, the term of office for the Mayor and the Councilmembers is currently two years. Do you favor increasing the term from two years to four years?
Yes — 3,548 (53.54%)
No — 2,848 (42.98%)
No opinion – 231 (3.49%)

(2) City of Rockville elections are currently held every two years, in odd numbered years. Do you favor moving the City elections to be held every four years to coincide with the Presidential Election?
Yes — 2,767 (41.91%)
No — 3,530 (53.47%)
No opinion — 305 (4.62%)

(3) The City of Rockville is currently governed by a Mayor and four Councilmembers. Do you favor increasing the membership of the Rockville Mayor and Council to a mayor and six councilmembers?
Yes — 2,843 (42.91%)
No — 3,345 (50.49%)
No opinion — 437 (6.60%)

Future Mayor and Councils may consider the outcome of these advisory referendum questions but are not required to change the charter in response to the votes.

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