Increasingly, residents of the City of Butler are acknowledging that, without new ideas and energy and without continuing the positive initiatives under way, the city won't move forward and resolve its many problems.

Tuesday's result in the Democratic mayoral primary was testimony to that mind-set that is becoming increasingly entrenched, as newcomer Maggie Stock soundly defeated Richard Schontz, who had served three terms as mayor between 1986 and 2002.

Schontz was regarded by some to have been part of the city's past "caretaker" leadership under which few major, new initiatives evolved, and a time in which the city's infrastructure and financial situation deteriorated.

The mayoral results, coupled with the final tallies in the race for two city council nominations, are testimony that city residents want to abandon the past and embrace a brighter future. Although incumbent Joseph J. Bratkovich won one of the two Republican council nominations, his second-place finish, only 61 votes ahead of third-place finisher Edward E. Green, was indicative of city residents' declining confidence in their "old guard" leadership.

Bratkovich is completing his third term.

In the Nov. 8 general election, Stock will face Republican Drusilla Rensel, while in the council race, Republicans Bratkovich and Mike Kelly will be challenged by Democrat Kathy D. Kline.

While the city results were a highlight of Tuesday's balloting, a "lowlight" of Primary Election Day was the low voter turnout, with barely one in four eligible voters going to the polls. Regis Young, who is head of the county election bureau, remarked that, even in these times of increased voter apathy, Tuesday's turnout could be classified as dismal.

Another "lowlight" of the election was the lack of competition for a county judgeship and for Republican-dominated county row offices. The Democratic Party's failure to field candidates - competitive or otherwise - for those offices was indicative of a lack of aggressiveness and confidence on the party leadership's part - a scenario that can only mean worse fortunes for the party in the future and lower registration totals.

No party should have an uncontested lock on available row office positions, and there are numerous lawyers who would have been highly qualified for competing for the judgeship.

Fortunately, the ho-hum on the county row office portion of the ballots wasn't in play in many of the school districts, boroughs, townships and district judge races. There was interest and enthusiasm displayed in many of those contests, even if the combined voter turnout wasn't as high as it should have been.

The county's highest turnout was logged by Chicora, with 57 percent. Election districts in third-world countries marked by violence have easily topped Tuesday's showing in Zelienople's 2nd Precinct, where only 13½ percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

Apparently, the hotly contested district judge race in Chicora sparked Tuesday's county-leading turnout there. However, considering what the voter turnout should be for any election in this county, even Chicora's percentage does not merit strong bragging rights.

With the election past, it's time for the candidates to remove their signs until the fall campaigning begins in September. It's time for the successful candidates to begin plotting their fall campaign strategies.

Meanwhile, for the most part, unsuccessful candidates should not be too discouraged to pursue office in the future. The wider the choice of candidates, the better the opportunity for better government.

Reacting to her victory in the city's Democratic mayoral primary, Stock said, "The city has many opportunities. We just need to work together and move toward the future as a community."

Many people in many Butler County municipalities have similar opinions about the places they call home.