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William “Rusty” Bailey defeated Ed Adkison to become the next mayor of Riverside.
Bailey won the race with 57 percent of the votes.
Prior to the mayor’s race, Bailey was an incumbent councilman and Adkison was a councilman of Riverside.
One of the youngest elected to hold this office Rusty, 40, has been described as “Son of Riverside,” a sixth generation Bailey.
Mayor-elect Bailey was a second-term councilman and Poly High School government teacher.
On election night, Adkison said that if he lost, he would work to unite the community.
“You need to pull the people together once the election is over and rally around the new mayor,” he said.
According to The Press-Enterprise, Mayor-elect Bailey said his first task would be to organize his office and select staff to ensure it represents what the residents want.
The P-E also reported that Mayor-elect Bailey jumped into the race soon after getting re-elected to the council in June 2011.
Riverside City Clerk Colleen Nicol said earlier that if Bailey wins, the city charter requires the council to appoint his Ward 3 council replacement.
If the council doesn’t act within two months, a special election must be called.
Because of the notice required by the state elections code, Nicol said. An election for the Ward 3 seat would be in June 2013, along with regular contests for the even-numbered council wards.
Loveridge said it was an honor and opportunity to serve Riverside for 32 years.
He also said Mayor-elect Bailey was his choice to replace him.
“I endorsed Bailey—he brings a facilitative style to governance, along with a strong affection for the City,” Loveridge said. “And the highest commitment to make its future better.”
Mayor-elect Bailey is scheduled to be sworn in on Dec. 11.
