Hodges beats Hall in Charlestown mayoral upset

CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WAVE) - In small-town races, they say every vote matters. That’s a lesson political newcomer Treva Hodges learned first-hand Tuesday night as the election results came out.

Hodges beat longtime mayor Bob Hall by 30 votes. The Indiana Secretary of State reporting Hodges won with 1,354 over Hall’s 1,324 votes.

For the small town, this kind of leadership change will be monumental.

"I think that people are just fed up with not having civility in their government. I think they got frustrated by not having their voices heard, not being able to ask questions, not being treated with respect and I think that's what you're seeing," Hodges said, following her victory.

Hall, who campaigned on his tenure of improving the livability and image of Charlestown and helping manage the growth brought on by River Ridge, wasn't able to hang on for another term.

Hodges won support from voters through her ideas of bringing more transparency to government and tackling issues that have long plagued the community, including advocating for dealing with lawsuits facing the town over redevelopment plans in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood.

The victory Tuesday night came with a slim margin, though that doesn't matter much to Hodges. She said whether you voted for her or not, it's time to get to work.

“This is not the time to gloat, this is not the time to brag, it’s a time to heal," Hodges said. “And to everybody who didn’t vote for me, you’re going to be able to have your voice heard. You’re going to be able to have your voice heard. You can always feel free to express yourself.”

Following her victory, Hodges said she wants to immediately get to work and focus on reaching across party lines as well as working with the people in the community in a transparent manner.

WAVE3 News reached out to Bob Hall’s campaign following the election, we were told Hall would be unavailable to comment until a later date.

There were several other key mayoral races in Indiana Tuesday.

In Kentucky, Democratic challenger Andy Beshear defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin, but Bevin is not conceding.

Other than the governor’s race, several Kentucky Republicans claimed re-election victories Tuesday.

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