By MICKEL PONTHIEUX / Sports Reporter

CHELSEA – After two ties following the Aug. 28 elections, winners have been decided in the Chelsea Place 2 and Place 3 council races.

The tightest race in the Oct. 9 runoff election was in Place 2, where Incumbent Tony Picklesimer defeated challenger Scott Weygand by just seven votes, 436-429, after the two tied at 696 votes after provisional ballots were counted for the August election.

“It was a narrow victory and the first thing I have to do is congratulate my challenger, Scott Weygand,” said Picklesimer. “He ran a first-class campaign. He worked very hard and has a lot to be proud of.”

Picklesimer added that he was humbled that the voters of Chelsea elected him to his third term on the city council.

“Chelsea is a part of my heart and I want (Chelsea) to be a healthy city,” Picklesimer said.

Challenger David Ingram won the Place 3 seat by a 437-416 margin, defeating incumbent Robert Barnes. After provisional ballots were counted in the Aug. 28 election, the two were tied at 746 votes, forcing the runoff.

“Mr. Barnes is a good guy and I knew it was going to be close,” said Ingram on winning the Place 3 seat. “There’s a lot of things to do here in Chelsea and I’m ready to get started.”

Ingram said now that he’s been elected elected, his vision for Chelsea includes a focus on growth, youth recreation and commercial development.

“We have tremendous growth from a family standpoint and we have to make progress for the families to have things for their kids to do,” said Ingram.

Challenger Alison Moore Nichols defeated Incumbent Mike Denton 539-323 in the Place 4 race. Nichols received the majority of the votes in the Aug. 28 election with 679 votes to Denton’s 438 votes.

“I’m just thankful,” Nichols said as the results were posted at Chelsea City Hall.