Democrats will now have a five-member majority on the Council after a former councilwoman and a newcomer won the Nov. 4 election.

Maureen Holtje and Jose Luis Vidal had 2,014 and 2,007 votes, respectively, to defeat Republicans Bart Talimini and Ayelet Weiss with 979 and 925 votes, respectively.

The two open seats are for three-year terms. None of the candidates were incumbents. The two incumbents losing their seats at the end of the year are Denis Gallagher and Beatrice Robbio, both independents.

Gallagher lost in the Democratic primary this spring. Robbio initially filed to run as an independent, but she and another independent candidate, Christina Zitis, withdrew from the ballot. Councilman David Weschler will be the lone independent on the council next year.

"I want to thank all the people of Edgewater for putting their trust in us and coming out to support us," Holtje said after the election.

She said the focus for the Council going forward will be keeping taxes stable and controlling the budget.

"With the economy we really have to keep expenses and taxes down," she said. "We’re in decent shape compared to other communities in Bergen County."

She said the economy is going to continue to have an impact across the country.