New Baltimore voters cast the most ballots in the city council election Tuesday for Zack Stanton, a young, first-time challenger with a big vision for the community.

In the race for three open, four-year seats on council, Stanton, 26, took the lead with 22.9 percent (1,182 votes) while veteran councilwoman and Make a Difference Day chairwoman Florence Hayman earned a spot with 20.5 percent (1,060 votes) and incumbent councilman and Mayor Pro tem Kenneth Butler secured a seat with 17.8 percent (922 votes), according to the Macomb County Election Department.

Meanwhile, Karl Rutledge earned the vacant two-year seat on council with 50.8 percent (964 votes) while Jim Morisette Sr. trailed closely behind with 49.2 percent (933 votes), according to election results.

“I'm surprised. I’m pleased. I’m pretty content that my message caught on and the work that I did paid off," Stanton, who was raised in New Baltimore, said after the results trickled in Tuesday night.

He said he knocked on more than 1,000 doors to speak of his plans to help enhance the historic downtown, improve efficiency in city government and achieve quality-of-life goals for the community.

"Now comes the actual hard part, which is implementing what they elected me to do," he said Tuesday night. "I'm looking forward to getting to work.”

Earlier Tuesday, as voters flocked to the polls, New Baltimore resident Eric Allen told Patch that Stanton had his vote because, "I went to school with him and I think he's got a good vision. I think he'll be good for the city and bring a lot to the table. I respect the work he's done."

Other candidates for the four-year seat were incumbent David Duffy with 13.1 percent (677 votes), challenger Frank Krause also with 13.1 percent (675 votes) and fellow challenger Stan Russell with 12.7 percent (655 votes), the results show.

New Baltimore had roughly a 26-percent voter turnout Tuesday with 2,123 residents casting ballots--about 1,500 of whom did so at the polls while the rest voted absentee. The turnout for this general election was around average with other contested elections in recent years, Clerk Marcia Shinska said.

City council members earn $150 per council meeting and $75 for each special meeting. The mayor's position, which was uncontested in this race, pays $44,500 annually, according to the city.