Longtime Aberdeen City Councilman Pete Schave posted a substantial lead over incumbent Mayor Erik Larson after the first round of ballot counts Tuesday evening and appears well on his way to becoming the new mayor of Aberdeen.

Schave tallied 1,167 votes to Larson’s 959 and leads 54.56% to 44.83%. In Aberdeen, 2,168 ballots were returned, 22% of the 9,758 registered voters in the city.

“It looks good so far but it’s so early, you never know,” said Schave shortly after the numbers posted. “Everybody here has been shaking my hand and all that stuff, but I think it’s kind of premature.”

Larson, like Schave, knows it’s early and there are still a number of ballots to be counted, but acknowledged the early results point to a city on the verge of a change.

“The reality is it’s been a very hard-fought election,” he said. “My opponent definitely put a lot of effort into putting his ideas forward and at least from the results tonight that is what the City of Aberdeen has decided it wants to see.”

Larson continued: “There’s a lot of ballots to count, but right now it looks like he’ll be the new mayor come Jan. 1. It’s been an honor to serve the city the last four years, and even if I’m not in the position I still look forward to working hard for the city I live and work in.”