As polls closed last Tuesday, Shippensburg University student Darren Brown watched the vote count come in via Internet.

For the last year, Brown has campaigned for mayor of his hometown, Chambersburg, Pa., and it all came down to Tuesday, Nov. 5.

With a final vote count of 1,429 to 1,262, Brown’s door-to-door campaigning paid off as he hugged and shook hands in victory.

Brown defeated incumbent Peter Lagiovane, who held the office for six years.

The mayor-elect said he was surprised at how close the election was and expected it to be more in favor of him than it was.

Brown will be officially sworn in as mayor on the first Monday of January. As mayor, Brown will lead the police department, have veto power and will break voting ties in city council.

Brown, a Republican, will be working with a mostly Democratic city council. He said he looks forward to working with the council and does not anticipate trouble working together.

One thing Brown mentioned in particular about his plans is that he would like to have an increased on-foot police presence downtown, and would like to have events for the community to learn more about the police and have positive experiences with them.

When asked about why he ran, Brown said he was inspired to run by Ron Paul, whose delegates were not recognized at the Republican National Convention (RNC).

“[The RNC] can reject [Paul], but they can’t reject a thousand Ron Pauls running for local office,” Brown said.

While Brown had a successful run, he said he recommends that his fellow college students do not try to balance school and campaigning.

“It is a lot,” Brown said. “All in all, it was more than I thought it was going to be.”

Brown plans to take some time off school to properly serve his role as mayor.

The mayor of Chambersburg works about 30 hours per month and makes $5,600 per year.

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