Local residents experienced two nights of heated elections for mayor and president this year.

Paul Culhane, a political science professor who worked as an election official for DeKalb Precinct 35, found 79 percent of the precinct voted and Kerry won by 1 percent.

DeKalb and Sycamore experienced the upseating of both mayors during the April 5 county election.

Former county board member Frank Van Buer defeated incumbent Greg Sparrow with 3,578 votes, a 59.51 percent majority.

There was a feeling of elation in the crowd as Van Buer made his acceptance speech to family, friends, supporters and some city council members, but Van Buer was somber as he realized the weight of the responsibility of the road ahead.

“We’ve got great years ahead of us working for the community,” Van Buer said. “I realize that there’s a lot of work ahead to get as many citizens as possible involved.”

The race for Sycamore mayor ended after incumbent John Swedberg called former Treasurer Ken Mundy to congratulate him when the results came in that night.

Mundy said he wants to instill confidence in Sycamore’s citizens, recognizing that 44 percent of voters sided with Swedberg.