Makransky and McCall win the two seats on Princeton City Council

PRINCETON — Martin Makransky and Michael McCall will be the newly-seated members on Princeton City Council.

Unofficial results Tuesday evening show Makransky with 554 votes (39.04%) and McCall with 540 votes (38.05%).

Opponent Jennifer Schnaiter ended the evening with 325 votes (22.9%).

Bureau County Clerk Matt Eggers confirmed there are only 25 outstanding ballots in the county, not enough to sway the race.

After results were in Tuesday evening, Makransky said he was thrilled with the turnout. He did acknowledge his opponent Schnaiter for a “well-fought” race.

“I thought Jennifer had a lot of energy and compassion and showed that pretty much throughout the whole campaign,” he said.

He thanked the voters of Princeton and said he had a warm reception from the time he announced his candidacy. He spoke to a lot of people throughout the campaign and appreciated all the support they showed him.

“I want to work exceptionally hard the next four years to keep my promises to the citizens. I’m just really happy about the whole thing,” he said.

Makransky said this was his first time running for office, and while it was nerve-racking, it was also exhilarating at the same time.

“We have some serious issues before us right now, and it’s going to take some research and knowledge and seeing both sides of the issues,” he said. “Not everything is cut and dry when these issues of the ordinances come before the city. Not everything is one side or the other. They’re close issues.

“That takes getting out there and talking to the folks who are going to be most affected by this and getting their perspective before making a decision.”

Schnaiter was sad to see the results Tuesday evening, but said this won’t be the last time voters will see her on the ballot. She is hoping to get involved in the community in other ways, and she has plans to run again for city council in the next election.

“I’m so thankful that I had the chance to run, because I met so many new people and I made some new friends, and I’m sure Martin Makransky and Mike McCall will do a good job on city council,” she said.

Schnaiter said this was also her first time running for office, and while she admitted the experience was stressful, she said she received nothing but positive remarks throughout the entire process.

On Wednesday morning, McCall said he was happy with the results. With this being his first campaign, he said the experience was a good one having received a lot of support throughout the process.

“I’m looking forward to the future, getting involved and helping out in the community,” he said.

McCall has already been keeping up with city council matters. This week he attended a council meeting and spoke out about the proposed food truck ordinance that ended up being tabled Monday evening.

McCall’s approach to the issue is to just be upfront with businesses and work with them and residents to move forward in a direction that’s fair for everyone.