FAIRHOPE, Alabama—Tuesday’s city election is being called a landslide by some observers in this Eastern Shore city and on news and social media websites, with the unofficial numbers bearing that out at least in some races.

Mayor Tim Kant was re-elected for a fourth term, receiving 54.8 percent of the vote, with outgoing City Council President Lonnie Mixon trailing a distant second at 29.8 percent, and Chris Warner further back at 15.3 percent.

The results in the mayoral and all five City Council races will be canvassed and expected made official next Tuesday. But Warner was quoted in the Press-Register Wednesday as saying he will challenge the election results.

In one major upset, longtime Councilwoman Debbie Quinn was trounced by challenger Jack Burrell, who drew 67 percent of the vote.  Similarly, Kevin Boone won a decisive victory over Councilman Rick Kingrea, receiving 62.5 percent of the vote. Another veteran incumbent, Councilman Dan Stankoski, often at odds with Kant during the past four years, was turned out of office by Rich Mueller, who garnered a convincing 57 percent of the vote.

The only incumbent who prevailed, long-serving Councilman Mike Ford, often seen as an ally of Kant’s during the mayor’s past three terms, received 56.7 percent of the vote over challenger Kyle Brady.

In the remaining closely watched race for Mixon’s open council seat, newcomer Diana Brewer narrowly avoided a runoff with Mike McPherson, a contest in which Vince Valentim also vied for the job. Her 50.3 percent gave her the seat outright by a mere 39 of 5,404 votes cast in that election.

“I see many opportunities for the new council, as they are energized and excited about working together as a team to better the city of Fairhope,” Kant said by email to The Courier yesterday. “With a team approach, challenges that may arise will be discussed and reviewed as a group.”

Although all six races were hotly contested since the election officially began in late July, and intensified when the Aug. 28 date was delayed by Hurricane Isaac to Sept. 11, only 41.77 percent, or 5542 of 13,268 registered voters, showed up on election day this year.

Here are the unofficial vote results as released by the city clerk’s office Tuesday night:

*Mayor: Kant, 3026; Mixon, 1643; Warner, 845.

*Place 1: Burrell, 3677; Quinn, 1793.

*Place 2: Mueller, 3084; Stankoski, 2295.

*Place 3, Brewer, 2720; McPherson, 2415; Valentim, 269.

*Place 4: Brady, 2327; Ford, 3056.

*Place 5: Boone, 3384; Kingrea, 2023.

“I am so happy that so many citizens came out to vote in the city’s election on Tuesday,” Mayor Kant said. “I appreciate all the support and look forward to serving the city of Fairhope and working with the new council.”