Mayor Joseph Curtatone won reelection by a landslide in Tuesday's run-off, presenting a sound rebuttal to Tufts employee Suzanne Bremer's calls for change.
Curtatone garnered 76.9 percent of the vote, while Bremer came away with only 17.6. The rest went to write-in candidates.
Somerville's Communications Director Tom Champion said the decisive victory bodes well for the mayor.
"Essentially, what this election means for the mayor is a huge vote of confidence from the people of Somerville, not only in his policies and agenda but in the actions of the Board of Aldermen when they have been called upon to pass judgment on his proposals," he said.
Bremer, a project coordinator at Tufts' Global Development and Environment Institute, was disheartened by the outcome. Still, she was glad she ran.
"I'm disappointed with the results, but I knew going in that this was an uphill battle, and I was running against a powerful incumbent," she said. "But I thought it was important, and I still think it's important to raise these issues that are important to the city of Somerville."
Bremer, who has never held public office, said this race was only the jumping-off point for a larger political career.
"At this point, my committee ... is going to remain active," she said. "I'll examine my options over the next couple of months and see where to go from there. I'm not going to rule anything out at this point."
Despite the defeat, she still feels that Somerville's population wants change, and she believes that she represents those progressive desires.
"The need for rational development, the need to improve our schools and [the need to] return to financial responsibility in the city's budget [deserve attention]," she said.
"The other issue that resonated with voters [during my campaign] was the issue of affordable housing and the need for a comprehensive transit plan," Bremer continued. "These are all things that the city needs and that the residents understand that the city needs."
But Champion said that residents are not clamoring for change, and that the election results showed this.
"The margin was important, I think, to the mayor as an indication of the depth and the strength of his support," he said.
Another Tufts employee also suffered defeat in a local election on Tuesday. Mail Services employee Mark Arena lost out on a bid for an at-large seat on the Medford City Council.
