“The city of Temple is in really good condition, and is a good place to live,” Janczak said following his win over Stephen Paine, 247-56. “I think we, the city, the constituents, are on the cusp of going from good to great.”
Paine congratulated Janczak. “Congratulations - enjoy! I’m sure you’ll earn it,” Paine said as he shook Janczak’s hand.
A total of 175 voters went to the polls Saturday, with 128 voting early.
“To see 303 voters out of 9,231 registered is a sad commentary of our process,” Mayor Bill Jones III said. “Too few people take seriously what it is that many people have fought and died for, to give us the right to vote.”
This was a special election to fill the seat of vacated by Martha Tyroch, who resigned in November to run for the state House of Representatives.
There was a very short period of time, very little exposure. It was a holiday period, Jones said. He thought these factors added to the reasons why voters didn’t turn out.
“We had a time period in which we could call the election, have the filing period and give a chance for the campaign,” Jones said, “and complete the election in sufficient enough time that the next election begins.”
If he wants to retain his seat on the council, Janczak will need to file again between Feb. 9 and mid-March.
“Glad to have you on the council and look forward to working with you,” Jones said as he congratulated Janczak.
“I’m honored and humbled by the Temple voters,” Janczak said. “I am going to work very hard to represent the people of District 3, as well as the citizens of Temple.”
Janczak has been a resident of Temple since 1977.
Janczak, like the mayor, was saddened by the numbers that turned out at the polls. “There are also other elections,” he said, “Many people thought other elections were on the same ballot,” he said. “There were people that came to the polls that thought the fire department bond election was today,” he said, “It all added to the confusion.”
It’s my belief that there weren’t any burning issues in this election, he said.
“We have good schools but we can’t be satisfied with that, we don’t have really great schools. We have a good city, but it’s not necessarily great,” he said. “I think we have the capability to go from good to great, with the right kind of leadership. I am privileged to provide that leadership,” he said.
Janczak intends running in the next election and serving the three-year term, “I committed to that,” he said.
tcooper@temple-telegram.com
