City had low turnout for elections Tuesday

Lacking an incendiary issue to rally behind, voters in the city of Watertown largely stayed away from polling sites on Election Day.

About 31 percent, or 3,727, of the 12,205 registered voters in the city cast ballots, Jefferson County elections officials said.

Jeffrey M. Smith and Teresa R. Macaluso were elected to fill a pair of council seats. One seat was open to fill former Councilman Peter L. Clough's expiring term. The candidates received 2,597 and 2,490 votes, respectively.

Stephen J. Bradley trailed with 1,581 votes and came in third in each of the city's four voting districts. That includes the 12th District, where he lives on Ten Eyck Street. In that district, he received 321 fewer votes than his nearest competitor, Miss Macaluso, who lives on Ward Street in the 13th District.

"I worked just as hard, if not harder, on this campaign," Mr. Bradley said Tuesday night.

He served a single term on the council, from 2003 to 2007.

Mr. Smith carried each of the four voting districts, including the 13th District, where he lives on Keyes Avenue.

While voter turnout peaked near 50 percent in some smaller villages because of controversial topics like wind power, city residents did not have a single significant issue to rally around, said Jerry O. Eaton, Jefferson County Republican elections commissioner.

"Some of the hotter races, we saw 45 to 50 percent of the voters come out," he said. "It's still better than some of the slower towns that we saw 20 to 25 percent in."

While Mr. Bradley and Mr. Smith campaigned on promises to push the city's use of alternative energy, Miss Macaluso said she will work to lower spending.

While campaigning, all three candidates agreed that crime is not an issue and services the city provides are largely ample.