“I think the people in Portsmouth are ready for a change.” That may have been the understatement of the night by newly elected Third Ward Councilman Nicholas R. Basham as the numbers poured into the Scioto County Court House Tuesday night, and voters in the first and third wards made a clean sweep, electing Basham in the Third and Kevin Johnson in the First Ward.

“My priorities are going to have to be the city building,” Basham said. “We have to have a safe place to meet. And we have to have a safe place for our employees to work in.”

Basham was asked what he felt in his campaign that resonated with the voters.

“I think people have seen what has been going on the past few years in City Council, and I think they are ready to try something different,” Basham said. “I came out, college-educated, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and I’ve just got some common-sense ideas of how we can make things run better and smoother.”

Basham was also asked about the transparency issue that seemed to be important to a lot of citizens.

“I think my opponent (Bob Mollette) was on the right track,” Basham said. “I really believe in having transparency in government. At the same time we have to have a very efficient government. And we can’t let the few people that complain every council meeting slow down the progress of the city.”

Basham easily out-distanced Mollette, by a two-to-one margin, garnering 805 votes to Mollette’s 391.

In the First Ward, Kevin Johnson defeated Mike Mearan to become the new First Ward Council representative.

Johnson was asked what he believes the voters are saying in voting against incumbent council members as well as the present Mayor.

“I think it’s up to us to look into this further to find out exactly what the voters are saying,” Johnson said. “But a couple of things come to mind first. One — they don’t like the way things have been run in the past. And they are wanting to see some planning — a little more openness in government, and to be honest — that’s what I ran on. A totally open government. If something is going on, I want through you (the press), the public to know about it when we face economic problems, where we face economic opportunities. I want good and bad, it’s the only way our citizens can make a decision on how to invest; how to continue to build here; to bring others into our communities so that we can build.”

Johnson said if people don’t get a true picture of the city, they will go to a community that will give them a true picture of the state of the city’s operation.

“We need to understand that we are competing with other communities throughout the United States in these economic times,” Johnson said. “And if you’re going to compete, be honest with them. Yes, we have problems, but boy do we have opportunity here.”

Johnson walked away with 58.88 percent of the vote to Mearan’s 41.12 percent, getting 474 votes to Mearan’s 331.

Neither ward’s races were ever in doubt, with the winners taking the lead in early reports and holding that lead throughout the night.

Frank Lewis may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232.