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Video produced by Multimedia Editor Serafina Frederick / Gene Emter speaks with Headline Surfer after being sworn in March 5, 2012, as the newest member of the Edgewater City Council following his win in a special election a week earlier to fill the seat opened with the passing of Ted Cooper.
EDGEWATER -- By a mere dozen votes, Gene Emter was elected to the Edgewater City Council in a Feb. 28, 2012, special election. Only 7 percent of the city's nearly 13,600 registered voters cast votes in the special election.
Still, every vote counts and the 74-year-old retired school superintendent from Ohio prevailed over retired Edgewater cop Gary Conroy to take over the district 4 seat that was held by Ted Cooper, who died of a massive heart attack in November at the age of 62.
Emter's victory comes in t No. 485 in Headline Surfer's countown of the top 500 stories of the 24/7 internet newspaper's 5th anniversary celebration.
Emter found the campaign trail a much easier path to take when it came to any potential challengers in the ensuing months leading up to qualifying.
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Gene Emter and Gigi Bennington, shown here at left, were returned to their respective Edgewater City Council seats when qualifying ended and they had no challengers.
When qualifying ended at noon on June 5, 2012, Emter and fellow incumbent Gigi Bennington were automatically returned to their respective seats on the Edgewater City Council because no one else challenged them, and therefore, those seats were no longer in play when it came the subsequent 2012 August primary and November general elections.
When qualifying ended at noon on June 5, 2012, Emter and fellow incumbent Gigi Bennington were automatically returned to their respective seats on the Edgewater City Council because no one else challenged them, and therefore, those seats were no longer in play when it came the subsequent 2012 August primary and November general elections.
The veteran Bennington was first elected to the city council in 2007.
Recap Top 500 Stories:
485. Gene Emter wins Edgewater city council seat in special election
486. Holly Hill woman calls in bomb threat from work resulting in evacuation; tells cops she 'needed a break'
487. Former South Daytona Mayor Joe Piggotte dies at 81
488. Ponce Inlet Councilman Joe Perrone holds onto seat with 1-vote plurality.jpg){kind=small}
489. Edgewater's Tia McDonald featured in book.jpg){kind=small}
490. Flocks of sick or deceased birds dot shoreline
491. Softy Jason McGuirk gets NSB Commission seat nobody else wants
492. Christmas comes early in 2010 for New Smyrna Beach with $402,500 fire rescue vehicle, complete with plaque
493. Convenience store clerk in Ormond Beach draws own knife to scare off knife-wielding robber
494. Former Oak Hill Mayor Donna Jane Bennett dies in 2009, a decade after exiting the political stage
495. Biketoberfest 2011 in New Smyrna Beach a bust
496. Topless woman holds up DeLand traffic
497. Oak Hill proud of its Super Bowl connection in winter resident Larry Csonka
498. Stetson University mourns passing of retired President H. Douglas Lee in 2009
499. Kilo of pot washes ashore on New Smyrna Beach on July 4th weekend
500. Celebrating 5 years of covering greater Daytona Beach & New Smyrna Beach with 24/7 internet newspaperHeadline Surfer 5th Anniversary Advertising---------------------
