Ward I alderman elected with 60 percent
Alderman Louise Povlin won her first Alderman Ward 1 election, with 60.56 percent of the vote, on Election Day, Thursday, Aug. 4.
“I’m very honored to serve, and I’m very humbled that so many people came out and supported my candidacy,” she said.
Povlin said she was looking forward to getting back to work.
“I’ve kind of had to have taken a break from the things I was working on to conduct my campaign, and I’m looking forward now to get back to business … I’m just looking forward to serving everyone,” she said.
“I understand there are people who voted for Rich [Cataldi], and that’s fine. I will represent the people of the North Ward. I will be doing my best for everybody, regardless of how they stood,” Povlin added.
“I’m working toward the betterment of Farragut. I’m not working to change it. I’m working to help make sure we maintain the residential nature, but we maintain a financially sound town,” she said.
Povlin said she would continue work on a program to get more input from residents.
She won 9-6 in absentee votes, 501-359 in early votes and 161-72 in Election Day votes.
“It was an education,” Povlin said, regarding conversations with people in the North Ward during her campaign.
“I just got much more informed about the issues they were facing from day to day … It just was an opportunity to meet people where they were and find out what they were dealing with,” she said.
She said residents talked in particular about the problem of speeding from Ramsgate to Stonecrest. In Ramsgate, she said residents complained about an ongoing puddling problem, leading to hazards in the wintertime. She said she was able to help with the puddling problem, and contractors recently repaved those streets.
Povlin also serves as small business liaison for Farragut Business Alliance and a member of Farragut Municipal Planning Commission. She is owner of Farragut’s Anytime Fitness.
Povlin was an incumbent this election. However, this was the first election in which she ran for office. Her previous term started when BOMA appointed her to fill the position of resigning Alderman Ron Honken Thursday, Jan. 14.
Because this will be her first elected term, Povlin may run again in the next election — in two years — to serve a second term. She said she had yet to decide whether or not to seek a second term.
