Sanger Overcomes Harris and Berger III to Become Clayton's New Mayor

The three-way race to replace Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein has been won by Harold Sanger, a retired businessman and former Clayton alderman.

"I'm blown away," Sanger told Patch.

He added that he was "exhausted" after a long election day, but was celebrating the win with his "wonderful family and supporters."

See our previous story for complete race coverage: 

With seven of seven precincts counted, the unofficial vote totals are as follows:

Sanger said had believed the three-way race might have finished up a bit tighter, but he was proud of the three candidates and their "good, clean races."

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for the other two candidates," Sanger said. "We've been friends for years. We had a good race, an open race and when there was a problem we communicated about it."

Sanger raised $31,303 in the campaign, according to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission. That's compared to Harris' $25,177 and Berger III's $16,810.

What's top priority when Sanger takes office?

The three candidates agreed in a Feb. 27 forum that the No. 1 priority facing the city is reducing the $3.6 million deficit. They explained that the city is currently on a three-year plan to accomplish that. Part of the plan includes reducing personnel through an early retirement program.

The cadidates met in a public debate on March 14 at the Clayton High School auditorium. Harris was the only one in the group to back the decision to move the police department into the renovated Heritage Building.

Patch left messages seeking comment with Harris and Berger III.

Berger III submitted a blog post to Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch, thanking supporters and his fellow candidates for a good race.

"I’d also like to thank my opponents for making this one exciting race," Berger III wrote in his post. "Together, we’ve discovered many talented, energetic and dedicated people who are committed to making Clayton’s future even brighter."