Challenger concedes mayor race

Candidate says margin of 7 votes unlikely to be made up

NORTH WALES » The candidate on the losing end of one of the area’s closest election contest has conceded.

Neil McDevitt, a Democratic candidate running for mayor of North Wales, posted a statement on Monday afternoon conceding a close race to incumbent Republican Mayor Greg D’Angelo.

“In my email with Mayor D’Angelo, I told him I was not going to ask for unity. In my experience, unity is a surefire way to ensure mediocrity,” McDevitt said. “Rather, I want to see people respectfully challenge their elected and ap-

pointed officials on how they can make North Wales the best borough it can be.”

McDevitt, a relative newcomer seeking to become the first deaf mayor in the area, fell just shy of victory. According to final but unofficial numbers posted by the Montgomery County Department of Voter Services, D’Angelo finished with a total of 446 votes and McDevitt 439, leaving a margin of seven votes — one more than D’Angelo’s winning margin of just six votes in 2013.

McDevitt said Monday

that the number of outstanding absentee ballots still left to be counted would likely not be enough to make up that margin, and thanked his fellow borough candidates, county and regional Democrats, the voters, and his family for their support — and wished his opponent well.

“As Mayor D’Angelo faces a majority Democratic Council for the first time in his career, I expect that he will be challenged. I hope he will rise to the occasion and deliver outstanding results for North Wales Borough,” McDevitt said.

“As for me, I’m going to get more involved in the various commissions and

boards active in the Borough. I’ll continue to press our political parties for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in their activities and slates. And I’ll be back!”

D’Angelo said Tuesday he has thanked McDevitt for his support, and D’Angelo said he has seen council working in a bipartisan manner for the past eight years, and said he personally will continue to work with members, and seek votes, from both parties.

“I believe that my bipartisan support and victory was an indication that the residents have been happy with my efforts. I am very grateful for their willingness to

place their trust in my for another term in office,” he said.

He specifically credited outgoing council President Mike McDonald, who lost in a bid for a third term last week, and councilman Mark Tarlecki who chose not to run again, for “leaving politics outside, locked in their cars.”

“It will seem strange for many of us not to see them seated at council’s table — I hope to see them in the audience,” he said.

“The borough of North Wales owes these two gentlemen a sincere ‘thank you’ for demonstrating, and living, ‘Residents before party.’”