Kownick captures Cary village president race

Cary voters chose a new village president Tuesday, electing former trustee Mark Kownick over incumbent trustee Bruce Kaplan.

The contest came about when the current village president Tom Kierna decided not to seek re-election. Kownick won with 52.6 percent of the unofficial total (1,450 votes) to Kaplan’s 47.3 percent (1,305 votes).

Kaplan, who will still retain the village trustee seat he won in 2011, said he was disappointed in the tone of the campaign and said the race should have been more about the issues and less about personalities.

“He (Kownick) put forth a strong effort. You have to give him credit, he had a good organization. It’s just that the content of his message was negative,” Kaplan said.

Kownick did not return calls seeking comment on his victory.

The new mayor is not a complete newcomer to the board. He was appointed trustee in 2009, but lost a re-election bid in 2011.

During the campaign, Kownick said his main goals were fiscal responsibility, making Cary a destination place with new developments and maintaining the village’s services.