SILVERTON – Tiffany deKay defeated Beccy Rhoades in a special election Tuesday to fill a Silverton Town Council vacancy.

DeKay won 244 to 150 (62 percent to 38 percent), according to Town Clerk Michelle Hamilton.

Turnout for the mail-in ballot was 71 percent.

“I am very appreciative for the support,” deKay said Wednesday. “My family and friends, and the community as a whole, have entrusted a confidence in me that I do not take lightly. As a public servant, I will work hard to represent the citizens of our community.”

Former Town Trustee Tracy Boeyink resigned in December last year, but a deeply divided Town Council was unable to decide on a replacement to fill her term, thus making the special election necessary.

DeKay, 49, will serve on the Town Council until the next town election in April 2016.

The special election followed a bitter recall campaign that failed to unseat Trustee Karla Safranski in February.

Mayor Chris Tookey expressed hope that with the special election over, the town can move forward on some urgent priorities, the first of which is to hire a new town administrator.

Former administrator Brian Carlson was fired last August along with Public Works director Gilbert Archuleta, which triggered the recall effort against Safranski.

“My hope is that we can now exhale and maybe move forward and really get some things taken care of,” Tookey said.

Tookey said the town has received “a good bunch of applicants” for the town administrator’s position.