It appears Maureen Miller Brosnan will become the first female mayor of Livonia.

Brosnan edged out her opponent, Laura Toy, with 12,230 votes. Toy fell just short with 12,066 votes, a difference of 164 votes.

The mayor serves a four-year term and currently makes $125,000 annually. She'll succeed current mayor Dennis Wright, who opted not to run for reelection this year.

"It's taken far too long for a woman to get here," Brosnan said. "My hope is that the path I've created made of concrete now so that other women can come behind me and don't find it quite so difficult or take as long to get here.

In her victory speech to supporters Tuesday night, Brosnan highlighted her young campaign team. Polled voters said that progressive nature is what they like about her.

"I want somebody who's going to be a little more progressive than some of the old ideals that have really gotten us in trouble," said voter Sara Petersen of her support for Brosnan.

Vote totals are unofficial until certified by the Board of Canvassers.

As for Toy, her council term ends in 2021. After that, she would be able to run for a second term.

"Thank you everyone for your support and trust in me," Toy said Tuesday night. "We'll keep this city moving forward."

Despite the close race, Brosnan and Toy did not comment on any possible recount. 

City council winners

In what started as a 12-person field, Kathleen McIntyre came out on top with 13,872 votes and is expected to become the next Livonia City Council president. The runner up, Scott Bahr, received 13,109 votes and will be the council's vice president. Both will serve four-year terms. 

Newcomers Brandon McCullough and Rob Donovic took the other two spots with 11,486 votes and 9,989 votes, respectively. McCullough, finishing third, will serve a four-year term, while Donovic will serve a two-year term.

"We have a lot of work to do," McIntyre said. "I squeaked by Scott Bahr and I couldn't have a better council vice president than Scott."

The council president currently makes $18,519 annually. All other council members make $17,270 annually.

Popular candidates among polled voters were Bahr, McIntyre and McCullough. Residents who participated in exit polling all said they found it important to exercise their civic duty. 

"I think it's always important to vote," said Livonia resident Ryan Malosh. 

The other four candidates who appeared on the ballot, Eileen McDonnell, Brian Duggan, Jim Davis and Greg Coppola as well as write-in candidate Leo Weber, didn't get enough votes to earn a spot on council. 

Clerk Susan Nash and Treasurer Lynda Scheel were both reelected to their positions. They ran uncontested races. 

Livonia mayor's race

• Maureen Miller Brosnan: 12,230
• Laura Toy: 12,066

Livonia City Council

• Kathleen McIntyre: 13,872
• Scott Bahr: 13,109
• Brandon McCullough: 11,468
• Rob Donovic: 9,989
• Eileen McDonnell: 9,702
• Jim Davis: 7,533
• Brian Duggan: 7,316

Reach Shelby at STankersle@HometownLife.com or 248-305-0448. She's on Twitter at @shelby_tankk. Contact David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.

https://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/livonia/2019/11/05/livonia-election-2019-brosnan-wins-livonia-mayors-race-164-votes/4121481002/