By Chris Moore

chris.moore@panews.com

For the first time in 16 years, Nederland has a new mayor. Don Albanese raised his hands in victory as the city clerk read the election totals in front of City Hall on Saturday.

“I felt good,” Albanese said of hearing that he was the new mayor. “It was close, but I’m glad it came out like it did. We worked hard. For four months, we lived and breathed this campaign.”

Albanese won with 1,756 (63.01%) votes.

Albanese said his opponent ran a hard campaign, Jeff Ortiz.

“Mr. Ortiz ran a hell of a campaign,” Albanese said. “Jeff and I are actually friends. Neither one of us threw any mud or anything like that. He did his own thing and I did mine.”

However, Ortiz said Albanese’s team did throw mud and that the citizens of Nederland got it wrong.

“I respect Albanese as a person,” Ortiz said. “However, I don’t respect the mud slinging and accusations that they threw on me, personally. I believe the citizens got it wrong. I believe my message of ‘hope’ and ‘future’ is a message that any candidate could’ve won off of.”

Ortiz said the Albanese family said that Ortiz could not run since Ortiz was not a homeowner.

“That’s illegal,” Ortiz said. “That would be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. They threw that out there. It is what it is. Obviously, the bond folks thought an 81-year-old person is the man for the job. Unfortunately, Mr. Albanese has no platform and no vision for our city. Luckily, we have good city management. I don’t foresee Mr. Albanese doing anything for our city over the next three years.

Ortiz said he plans to stay active in the city and hold officials accountable.