Athens resident Kent Butler beat out an Ohio University freshman in the Democratic primary for a First Ward City Council seat by 70 votes.

Butler, 37, won the Democratic nomination with 205 votes — 60 percent of those cast. Butler is a substance abuse counselor at Bassett House, a residential facility for adolescents, and coaches the OU ultimate Frisbee team.

“I’m excited and looking forward to serving the citizens of Athens,” Butler said.

Butler said he attributes his win to the time he spent talking to residents in neighborhoods.

His opponent, OU freshman Nick Budich, received 135 votes.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m proud of the race I ran,” Budich said.

Budich said he would advise Butler to represent the students and permanent Athens residents equally.

Budich has no immediate plans to run for another office but said, “I’m young, I’ll be back.”

Because no Republican has filed to run for the First Ward seat, Butler likely will run unopposed for the position in November.

“I couldn’t idly just sit by and complain about the state of affairs if I wasn’t willing to immerse myself with actually being a participant in the process,” Butler said of his decision to run.

Butler said he will use the summer to “learn the lay of the land” in City Council.

Butler’s top priority is maintaining safety, smart development and green space in Athens.

The First Ward candidate said he supports Halloween as an event and would like to find ways to increase revenue and safety for the weekend. Daytime events would encourage families, in addition to students, to participate in Halloween activities, he said.

Butler supports the council proposal to implement a hangtag system for parking so that residents do not have to move their cars every 24 hours.

“It’s a waste of gas, it’s a waste of resources, it’s a waste of time,” he said.

Four Democrats ran unopposed for other City Council positions.

City Council President Bill Bias received 1,173 votes. Sherry Coon won the Second Ward council seat bid with 250 votes. Bojinka Bishop, the current seat-holder, chose not to run. Nancy Bain received 357 votes pursuing the Third Ward seat, and Debbie Phillips, the Democratic slot for Fourth Ward with 346.