FREDONIA — Prior to the election results coming in for the village of Fredonia trustee seats, both Democratic and Republican nominees felt a sense of calm.

For Republicans Jon Espersen, Nicole Siracuse, and David Bird and Democrat Michelle Twichell, that sense of calm turned into validation.

Siracuse, Espersen, Bird, and Twichell now find themselves as members of the Fredonia Village Board, following the results of Tuesday night’s election. Espersen wound up with over 27 percent of the vote for the vacant seat, with 1,019 votes, while Bird was second on that ballot with 862 votes, good for just over 23 percent. On the other side, Siracuse collected 28 percent of the vote with 1,047 votes, while Twichell edged out another Republican nominee, William Weatherlow, by 52 votes, 773-721.

The votes are unofficial as the county noted more than 2,500 absentee ballots that will be counted Nov. 15.

Newly elected Trustee Bird said the Republican candidates would have been happy for each other, regardless of who or how many of them took seats. Bird watched the results come in at Fredonia’s Beaver Club, alongside Siracuse, Espersen, and Weatherlow.

“Regardless of if we all win or just one of us wins, we’re all going to be happy for each other,” said Bird. “We like each other and it’s a good group of people. We deserve the group of people here running for Fredonia. We talk all the time and know everything going on through this whole campaign. We did the Trunk or Treat all together. It makes a big difference.”

Siracuse, who made her first run at the trustee seat, is a member who is eager to begin helping the community she grew up in. Throughout her campaign process, Siracuse learned that above all else, residents want to be heard.

“I’ve been doing a lot of door-to-door and listening to what people are looking for from their administration is key to me,” said Siracuse. “At the end of the day, we’re here for them.

“People just want to be heard,” Siracuse continued. “Sometimes it doesn’t even matter if you can fix their problem, they just want their voices heard and that can mean the world to somebody.”

Meanwhile Espersen, who is newer to the Fredonia area than the other people running, learned that the political climate is still pretty hostile, with some people not willing to listen to others. Espersen said that with how much of the village of Fredonia is registered Democratic, he adapted his campaign to fit all sides, which inevitably worked out for him in the end.

“I’ve learned people have pretty short fuses,” Espersen said. “I’ve learned what it sounds like when a door gets slammed in your face when someone asks what party you’re a member of. It makes me sad that some people aren’t even willing to have a conversation with you. Fredonia being 75 percent Democrat, I tried to make a concerted effort to talk to as many democrats as I could. If my only campaign was Republican voters, I’d be wasting my time.”

On Main Street in the village, the Democratic Party was not as upbeat as results rolled in. Twichell, however, felt connected to the issues her community was facing.

“I’ve run before as a trustee,” Twichell said. “It’s not my first rodeo. I’ve learned what the issues are. Going door to door, you discover there are things you didn’t know before. I know a big issue people were voting on was the reservoir and the drinking water.”

Throughout the election process, both parties ran a clean campaign and were able to maintain a sense of peace not only within the parties, but between the parties as well.

“It was a clean, well-run campaign,” said Bird. “Nobody slammed anybody. It was at least a civil election.”