Former Town Council member Melinda Smith said Wednesday she felt “honored” to be elected the new mayor of Manchester, after defeating Ryan Warner in Tuesday’s election.
Mayor-elect Smith, 52, garnered 180 votes to Warner’s 133.
“I am honored and excited to be the mayor of the wonderful town of Manchester,” she stated in an email. “I want to thank everyone who supported me by coming out to vote, signs in their yard, encouragement and everything else that came along with my campaign and election, I am ready to get to work for the citizens of Manchester!”
Smith served on the Manchester Town Council from 2013 to 2021, and did not run for a third term. She is retired from her full-time job as an insurance agent.
“I was on the council for eight years and my schedule was too busy to run for a third term,” she said. “Now that I am retired from my other full-time job, I have the time to commit to the town.”
Warner, 48, was first elected to the Town Council in 1999, and served three terms until he was elected mayor in 2011. He won reelection in 2015 and 2019 to the mayor’s office.
In the race for two Town Council seats, Ryan Nazelrod earned the most votes, with 207, followed by incumbent Jennifer Miller, with 179 votes. Incumbent Vincent Pacelli came in third, with 156 votes, and will not retain his seat.
Winners will be sworn into office on May 24.
“It’s kind of feels surreal,” Nazelrod said, in an interview Wednesday morning. “I did all things you’re supposed to do in an election, and I’m happy the people turned out to vote for me.”
Nazelrod, 38, said he is ready to work with the new mayor and the Town Council.
“I think Manchester is a great town, and I want to make it the best that it can be,” he said.
Nazelrod, who ran unsuccessfully for Town Council in 2021, said before the election that he was running in order to enhance communication between the town government and residents, while encouraging residents to become more involved.
The owner of Ryans Lawn and Landscape, he said he wanted to “continue to promote the proactive and positive community police, promote small business, and encourage new businesses within the town, promote youth sports, activities, and engagement, and keep children safe throughout the town, school, and in neighborhoods.”
Miller, 38, has served two terms on the Town Council. She was first elected in 2015.
A fourth-grade science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teacher at Runnymede Elementary School in Westminster, Miller said before the election that she was seeking another term because she loves the town and wants to preserve its small-town feel.
The mayor of Manchester earns an annual salary of $6,000, while each of the five council members earns $2,400. The small town in northeast Carroll County has a population of 5,509 residents.
