"I knew in my heart the deck was stacked against me," he said.
When incumbent John Zeiger heard his decade-long run as Mayor of Saratoga had come to a close, he was disappointed, but not surprised.
If anything, he had been anticipating it.
Zeiger finished with 118 votes in the Aug. 12 primary for Saratoga; nine votes behind Don Sherrod, and 109 votes behind Ed J. Glode. The ballots were recounted and he will not be moving on to the general election.
"I knew the odds were not great that I was going to get elected, and I'm good with it," Zeiger said.
In what would have been his fourth term, Zeiger ran in the 2014 election because he wanted the people to say it was time for a change. Though many of his critics wanted him to step down, Zeiger said he did not want to give up and give them the satisfaction of not running.
He is disappointed in the outcome, but he is more disappointed in the way people behaved during the primary.
"It wasn't just small-town Wyoming [politics]. We hit the national level," he said.
Zeiger said he was upset with a sign posted on First Street which said, "Anyone but John." Additionally, he was upset with the letter to the editor policies of the Saratoga Sun, saying he did not have an opportunity to preview the letters criticizing him before they were printed. He was also upset with not being able to respond in the paper towards the letters directed towards his policies.
Many candidates criticized the budget for not being transparent. However, Zeiger said even the candidates who came in and picked up a copy of the budget did not return to ask questions. He felt the candidates should have asked questions on the budget before criticizing it.
Zeiger will remain in office until the first council meeting in January 2015. But even as his days are numbered as mayor, Zeiger has plans for the remainder of his term.
He would like to finish the pedestrian bridge from the hot pool to Veterans Island. Despite being called "the bridge to nowhere" by many of his critics, Zeiger said he sees the project as beneficial to the town.
Additionally, Zeiger said he would like to make a push towards completing Tyler Pickett Park. He has recently met with one of the lead donors to the park, and they have started to increase funding for the project. They are hoping to submit at least part of the project to the Wyoming Business Council by Dec. 31.
While all candidates agreed infrastructure was a major issue, Zeiger hopes the future mayor will accommodate both the streets and sewers equally. He said the last few years, most of the county consensus money has gone towards repairing the sewers, and the streets need to be addressed as well. He also hopes whoever is elected will pay ample attention to the recreation department and invest in repairing the swimming pool, despite understanding funds for that project are difficult to come by.
Zeiger also said he did not personally think the Upper North Platte River Project would continue. However, he thought it was a worthwhile investment to do the river study to go along with the master plan.
After his term is up, Zeiger said he will remain somewhat active in town government, but does not plan on attending council meetings unless there is an issue he feels strongly about.
"I think I am going to be a watchdog somewhat," Zeiger said.
Specifically, he would like to keep close tabs on a rock island piling on the river. Zeiger said he was criticized for not removing the rock island on numerous occasions.
"People came up to me and said 'you just need to go into that island, John. That's what we did back in the day.' Well, I would have been breaking the law," he said.
Zeiger said if the new mayor tells town employees to remove the island without the proper permitting, they would be breaking the law.
As most of the candidates are businessmen, Zeiger said he is worried about potential conflicts of interest.
"They just need to be super careful," he said.
Included in his concerns with conflict of interest are the sewer and street projects. Zeiger said a candidate has previously asked questions about a sewer line by his house. If the candidate is elected, and the project becomes a priority, Zeiger said he will be sure to call him on it.
He is also concerned with the future of his staff. Zeiger said he sees some concerns because the positions serve at the pleasure of the mayor, but he said the employees have worked hard to serve the town.
Zeiger said he does not plan on endorsing a candidate for council or mayor.
He will likely move his office as Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator to the public health building. Zeiger said he expects to see another high-water event, and will be assisting the town if needed.
Even after losing in the primary election, Zeiger said he sees many positives in his future. He will have more responsibilities as Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator, which will take up more of his time. He said not being mayor will open more opportunities for his career and his family.
"Maybe the voters did me a favor. Maybe it's time to move on to different adventures," Zeiger said. "Who knows what doors are going to open for me. One door closes, and another door opens."
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