Misty Buscher is Springfield's next mayor

After trailing a good portion of Tuesday, city treasurer Misty Buscher claimed the Springfield's mayor's office, defeating incumbent Jim Langfelder and becoming the second woman to hold the city's top spot.

Buscher, who served two terms as treasurer, won with 13,554 votes to Langfelder's 12,782, or 51% to 49%.

The numbers from the Sangamon County clerk's office were unofficial. Early voting ballots had to be postmarked Tuesday, but can be counted in the totals up until April 18.

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Langfelder said based on the numbers from Tuesday, he wouldn't seek a recount or contest the election, though he conceded he could change his mind.

Buscher bypassed a run for a third term for treasurer, saying the reason she got into the Springfield mayor's race last summer was because she didn't like what she saw at City Hall the last eight years of the Langfelder administration.

Buscher railed on the Langfelder's "pay-to-play" politics.

At a March 9 press conference, Buscher said she was "offended" that Langfelder took a $2,500 campaign contribution from Springfield attorney and past political candidate George Petrilli after Petrilli allegedly had a $42,000 debt forgiven by the city.

The fines and utility bills were racked up over Petrilli's ownership of a property in Enos Park.

Langfelder said he later returned the contribution.

Buscher had strong labor backing, marked by the historic coming together of the city's police and firefighters unions.

Buscher's supporters gathered a private party Tuesday evening.

"I want to be the change I see in my community," Buscher told The State Journal-Register earlier. "I'm not (running) for a legacy, for a family name. I'm not doing this for a giant political career."

Buscher outspent Langfelder by more than 2:1, thanks to an influx of cash from Illinois Realtors. Buscher's husband, Mike Buscher, is a real estate agent.

Langfelder admitted he had been outspent in previous mayoral campaigns, instead relying on door-to-door through a retinue of supporters.

In a concession speech at the State House Inn, Langfelder said "the power of the purse won."

Michael Butler, a Cor Strategies marketing organizer based in O'Fallon who works in central and southern Illinois, said the fact that Langfelder won two elections where he was outspent proved other things were at work.

"You can't blame it all on that," Butler said.

Though the early voting gave Langfelder a double-digit lead, he admitted he thought the cushion should have been more, giving him cause for concern early on.

"We knew it would be tight, but when you're up against a lot of money and resources, we did about as best as anybody could do," he said.

Butler pointed out that Buscher had a stronger performance with early voting and vote-by-mail.

"She also got what she needed on Election Day, which ended up putting that in the win column for her," Butler said.

A strong female turnout with early voters was also a big factor for Buscher, he added. Two women, Colleen Redpath Feger and Lisa Badger, were candidates in the city's other high-profile race for treasurer.

Langfelder, like his father, Ossie Langfelder was denied a third term as mayor. Langfelder referenced his father, who fled with his family from Nazi-occupied Austria, several times in his speech Tuesday.

Thanking Buscher for running "a challenging campaign," Langfelder ensured there will be a smooth transition and "open lines of communication" as she takes office.

"We definitely left Springfield in a better place than when we inherited it," Langfelder said.

Buscher, in a Facebook post from her gathering Tuesday night, promised to governor in a non-partisan way "to move Springfield forward."

Buscher had the backing of Springfield's first woman mayor, Karen Hasara. The Lincoln Laureate served as mayor from 1995 to 2003.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Misty Buscher defeated Jim Langfelder for Springfield mayor