While the world waits for final word on who will serve as the next President of the United States, hundreds of local elections around the country have already been decided. The results of these local races suggest a trend unlike what many analysts have found in congressional races, and in the closeness of the Presidential race itself — that America's citizens are by and large content with the quality of life in their communities, and with the quality of their local public servants.

The U. S. Conference of Mayors compiled election results from 180 cities around the country; of those, incumbents ran for re-election in 140 mayoral races. In the races where the incumbent mayor was up-for re-election, citizens re-elected the incumbent in 126 races—more than 4 out of 5 times. Conference of Mayors Advisory Board members Gus Morrison of Fremont (CA) and J. Christian Bollwage of Elizabeth (NJ) were among this number. Both were re-elected to serve another mayoral term in their respective cities. Conference leader Vera Katz of Portland (OR) also was re-elected by her constituents.

There are also a number of new mayors in cities around the country. In San Diego (the largest city in which a mayoral election was held), where incumbent Mayor Susan Golding did not run for re-election, voters chose as their 33rd Mayor Dick Murphy, a 57-year-old Superior Court judge who has made restoring public trust in government one of his top priorities. California's capital city, Sacramento, also has a new mayor — City Council member and longtime community activist Heather Fargo (incumbent Mayor Jimmie Yee did not seek re-election). Fresno (CA) also has a new mayor — Alan Autry, an actor and former National Football League player best known for his lengthy run as police officer Bubba Skinner in the television series In the Heat of the Night. Autry, 48, captured over 61percent of the vote to succeed Jim Patterson and become the second "strong mayor" of California's sixth-largest city and the 23rd mayor overall. Local analysts say Autry scored with voters by concentrating on four themes: education reform, continued crime reduction, rebuilding downtown around a $30 million lake and uniting a city he says is economically and socially divided at Shaw Avenue.

In late-breaking news, Tacoma (WA) Mayor Brian Ebersole announced his resignation as mayor, to take a position as President of Bates Technical College. In the coming weeks, City Council members will interview candidates and appoint Ebersole's replacement as mayor, who then will serve from January until next year's general election. A schedule for the appointment process has not been set, according to city officials.

Election results for cities over 30,000 in population are listed below (see feature story on elections in Puerto Rico and the USCM Elections Database for additional information).