Incumbents out front in city council race

In a race for three city council seats, incumbents were the top three vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary election.Mark Zupec (673 votes), Jerome Debeltz (662) and Paul Kess (524) all moved on to the Nov. 2 general election, where they will be joined by challengers Chuck Novak (483), Robin Mathews (434) and Patrick Osaben (368).Louis Kotzian (279) and David Schmidt (182) lagged behind and were eliminated from contention.That makes for a six-way battle in November and while the incumbents - particularly Zupec and Debeltz - appear to have a leg up on the field, Novak finished a strong fourth while both Mathews and Osaben appear to be in striking distance.“It looks like a good field,” said Kess. “I’m glad for the opportunity to serve and I’ll try to distinguish myself as a good choice. I hope there’s a good debate and that the public gets a chance to see what the incumbents and newcomers stand for.”All three incumbents touted their record and experience in what - for now - has been a low-key campaign.During a public forum before the primary, Novak called for the city to promote its quality of life and relatively low cost of living in a push to attract more high-paying jobs, particularly in the technology field. He said the city needs to do a better job of communicating the costs associated with each aspect of city government.Mathews promised to represent the wishes of his constituents and pressed for a closer look at city expenditures.Osaben is on the ballot this time around after mounting an unsuccessful write-in campaign two years ago.