As Voters Come Out, Monroe's Candidates Like Their Chances

Monroe voters are still heading to the polls and both first selectman candidates are feeling confident by what they see.

First Selectman Steve Vavrek (R) talked to voters outside Masuk High School.

"I'm just very encouraged about the voter turnout," Vavrek said. "It's been brisk at times. It's positive."

The first selectman said most residents he spoke to seem knowledgable about the issues, while others are just voting along party lines.

"A woman told me she didn't vote for me and said, 'You gotta watch the taxes and infrastructure,'" Vavrek said. "I told her we've had the lowest budget increases over the past four years and have been addressing infrastructure and she said, 'I didn't know that.'"

Challenger Daniel Hunsberger, a Democrat, was standing in the Fawn Hollow Elementary School parking lot when a woman patted him on the back as she walked by and said, "I voted for you."

"People are coming up and saying, 'We're voting for you,'" Hunsberger said. "It's going to be a close race. I think Steve's going to be surprised. It will be much closer than expected."

As of 2 p.m., 19.5 percent of 2,296 of the town's 11,773 registered voters participated in the municipal election, according to statistics from the Registrars of Voters Office.