MANSFIELD — Shari Robertson said she was honored when Phil Scott decided to run against her on the Nov. 4 ballot.
She was even more honored when she learned Tuesday night she had defeated the long-time elected official, successfully retaining a Mansfield City Council At-large seat.
“I am overwhelmed, extremely grateful that the community had that kind of support and trust in me,” the 58-year-old Robertson said.
Robertson gained the victory with 51.1 percent of the vote, according to final, unofficial totals from the Richland County Board of Elections.
A Republican, Robertson received 2,589 votes, compared to 2,471 for Scott, a Democrat who will continue as City Council president for the next two years.
Robertson, who was appointed by Republicans a year ago to fill an unexpired At-large term, said she knew running a citywide campaign would be a lot of work.
“I was committed to that,” she said Tuesday night. “I made that decision when I sought the appointment because I knew I would be running for the seat.
“I knew I had to put together a good strategy and get our word out quickly because Phil has huge name recognition. I have a lot of respect for Phil. I have known him for a lot of years and he is a good guy. There’s no animosity between he and I,” the retired Mansfield police captain said.
“I definitely drew the top guy. At the same time, I was honored because I felt the Democratic Party must have felt I was formidable as a candidate,” she said.
“I cannot thank enough local leaders who supported me and endorsed me … labor unions that endorsed me,” the retired Mansfield police captain said.
Robertson said winning her own four-year term will allow her to focus on the task at hand.
“The uncertainty of not knowing for sure if you’re going to be (on council) can affect how you look at things sometimes,” she said.
“I am a firm believer that you need to give people a choice. Anything I have ever gotten in my life, I have worked for and I had no problem working for this,” Robertson said.
The 70-year-old Scott has served in public office for many years. He was elected Richland County Clerk of Courts in 1987 and served in that spot until losing a bid for another re-election in 2004. He won election three times as Mansfield City Council president (2008-2019) before he was term-limited out of the slot.
Scott won a council At-large seat in 2020 before going back to win a term as council president in 2024.
“Shari is very well known in the community and she ran a good race. It was close. It’s not like either of us ran away with it. She was a good opponent,” he said.
“Maybe people decided I should stay as president of council. Maybe it’s a compliment that I should stay where I am at,” he said.
