David Ellis led with 4,522 votes, followed by Bruce Kelley with 4,459; Ron Beatty with 4,319; and Dave Butterbaugh with 4,289 — defeating Devin Saylor, who had 3,898.

“I believe it had to do with the plan we put together and following that plan,” Ellis said, when asked to explain his success with voters — referring to the new comprehensive plan, Altogether Altoona.

The comp plan calls for significant numbers of blighted property demolitions, rehabilitation of salvageable blighted properties and construction of new homes, among its key elements, Ellis noted.

It was a low-key campaign for the incumbents, which didn’t lend itself to “a lot of issues (coming) out” — but which did lend itself perhaps to voters noticing that the incumbent council members were following the comp plan and working to improve the city’s housing stock, according to Kelley.

Beatty

The plan is “a well-written document and a good road map,” Kelley said. “We’re trying to adhere to and implement the plan.”

Voters were also pleased that council took steps to make it easier for developers to do business in the city, with changes that include removing the requirement that most electrical and plumbing work be done under the supervision of a city-licensed master, Ellis said.

And voters were pleased that council rebuilt the Community Development Department that was decimated to save money during COVID; while also rewriting the zoning and land development ordinances, Ellis said.

All of those charges are designed to encourage investment in the city, according to Ellis.

Beatty, too, has focused on housing — in particular rehabilitating homes that can be saved, including one on 21st Avenue that was “an epic battle,” but that now is nearly finished being transformed from a wreck with “good bones” to an asset for a decent neighborhood, according to Beatty.

Butterbaugh

“I’m a working councilman,” said Beatty, to explain what the voters saw in him.

“I’m out in the community every day, driving around the streets, working in homes (he owns a carpet-cleaning business) and listening to concerns,” Beatty said.

The current council is also responsible for the hiring of new City Manager Christopher McGuire, who “has brought an awful lot to the table for us” — including a “pro-business and pro-neighborhood stance,” along with an ability to “think outside the box,” Kelley said.

Voters seem to have recognized that the current council members work well together, Butterbaugh said.

“There are a lot of positive things happening,” he stated.

Kelley

That includes a downtown resurgence, along with the improving blight situation and a decreasing crime rate, with the help of council’s support of the police department, Butterbaugh said.

Victory in defeat

Although he lost, “I still won,” Saylor said, “(Because of) all the connections I made. … All the people I’ve met. All the things I’ve learned. It puts me in position to help serve Altoona better.”

For example, he learned to appreciate the issues landlords deal with by talking to a landlord who owns property in the Knickerbocker neighborhood, he said.

Some of his campaign conversations led him to foresee potential solutions to problems — like, for example, neighborhood mini-councils that could interact with city government to solve neighborhood issues, he said.

Ellis

In his campaign, he took an unconventional approach, focusing on going where young voters were, in places like bars and local events like festivals, he said.

The whole experience gave him a perspective he wouldn’t have had access to otherwise, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.

Saylor