MONROE — Monroe Mayor Louis Armstrong beat out Bill Ross after the April 7 spring election by a narrow margin of 72 votes. 

Ross brought in 1,231 votes to Armstrong’s 1,303. 

It’s not the first time Armstrong has won against Ross in a mayoral race. Ross had been Monroe’s mayor for 18 years when Armstrong unseated him in 2016. That told Armstrong that the race could be tight this time around. 

“I expected it to be close,” Armstrong said. 

Armstrong said he’s glad he came out on top, and is looking to the future for the City of Monroe as they continue to work through restrictions and obstacles due to the COVID-19 virus. 

Although Ross was disappointed in the results, he called to congratulate Armstrong and wish him well. 

“I really had a good time running for mayor,” Ross said. “For me, the whole experience was positive. I just love this community so much.”

Ross said campaigning was difficult, since candidates weren’t allowed to go door to door and he’s grateful for voters who came out in the midst of a pandemic.

“It takes real courage to vote during this time,” Ross said. “But the citizens have spoken and I wish Louis the best.”

The future will likely bring to fruition a solar project brought forth by Armstrong, who is known for pursuing “green” initiatives in the city and he said he hopes to have it started for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

With the election behind him, Armstrong is looking forward to getting back to focusing on the city’s future. 

“We can continue on trying to function as a city while social distancing,” Armstrong said. “… We’re working through this road bump.”

He said the city is in beginning stages of seeing what it can do to help heal the downtown after businesses struggle through impacts from COVID-19. He said it’s a “great concern” of his to keep the healthy business community in Monroe thriving.

The April 7 election brought some issues and last minute changes because of a “Safer at Home” order due to COVID-19 that were handled by Monroe City Clerk/Treasurer Brittany Rindy. Results were tabulated April 13 due to the influx of absentee ballots. She said about 23 ballots were added April 13 to the former totals. 

“Overall, the process went well,” Rindy said.