OCCOQUAN, Va. -- There will be some new blood on the Occoquan Town Council.
Newcomers Elizabeth A. “Liz” Quist and Patrick A. Sivigny took two of the five open spots on council. Incumbents Ken T. Brunsvold, Denise M. Bush and James N. Walbert took the final three spots.
With just 60 tallies, incumbent Joao Paul “JP” Cunha was voted out of office. incumbent Barry G. Dean chose not to run this year.
With no opposition on the ballot, Earnie Porta was re-elected as mayor for a third straight two-year term.
Brunsvold, who is serving currently as the town’s vice-mayor, was the top vote getter on the council with 98 votes. A total of 120 votes were cast out of 629 registered voters.
Quist is a 34-year Certified Public Accountant and member of the Occoquan Town Council’s Finance Committee. Sivigny is retired from the Marine Corps and has been a resident of Occoquan for seven years.
“I was pleasantly surprised, it’s a great place and I am just so honored that they wanted to see me in this position,” said Quist, who moved to Occoquan less than three years ago after six years with a bookkeeping firm in California.
With an accounting background, Quist said she will strive to keep expenses low while helping to diversify its revenue stream. Quist hopes to not have to rely on the two craft festivals each year in order to balance the budget.
“We have to be frugal,” Quist said. “Our country is expected to tighten up right now and so are we,” Quist said.
The polls were open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. By 11 a.m., approximately 40 residents had cast their ballots. Cruise said typically around 100 people vote each election.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-530-3904.
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