Newcomer Jeanne Fay to join Hampton City Council

Hampton City Council will have one fresh face starting next year, and her name is Jeanne Fay. She won the at-large council seat Tuesday evening.

Fay, who was born and raised in Iowa, spent much of her adult life in Colorado. But three years ago, she returned, as she missed “Iowa Nice” and the perks that come with living in a small town. She now works at Franklin General Hospital in Hampton

“Hampton is everything that I wanted to leave Colorado for: fewer people, way less traffic and an affordable cost of living,” she told the Chronicle while campaigning for city council. “Since I have lived in places other than Hampton, I believe I can bring a fresh perspective and ideas to the Council that may not have been considered otherwise. I am planning to live in Hampton for many years to come; why wouldn’t I want to do my part to help Hampton be the best town it can be?”

According to the unofficial election results that were posted by the Franklin County Auditor’s Office Tuesday evening, Fay won around 74 percent of the votes for her seat, with the rest going to write-in Lisa Hill.

“I am feeling so thankful and honored that the residents of Hampton would choose me to be their Councilor At-Large,” Fay said on Wednesday morning. “I am a very hard worker and never do anything halfway. I promise to bring that work ethic to my work on the Council as well. I’m excited to help Hampton continue to make improvements that benefit the community and to possibly bring some new perspectives to the conversation. Most importantly, I am here to represent Hampton and I need everyone to reach out and let me know what is most important to them."

The other seats for Hampton City Council went to incumbents. Steve Birdsall was re-elected as Mayor, Kristin Roode was re-elected for Ward 1, Barry Lamos was re-elected for Ward 2, Bill Holmstrom was re-elected for Ward 3 and Jerre Grefe was re-elected for Ward 4. At-large city councilor Patrick Palmer, who had announced he wouldn’t be re-running during the summer, announced his campaign for Ward 3 last week, falling short on votes Tuesday evening. He received 43 percent of the votes for Ward 3.

The election results will be canvassed by the Franklin County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 12.