Ice cream shop owner defeats incumbent mayor of small Virginia town with write-in campaign

An ice cream shop owner in a small Northern Virginia town defeated the incumbent mayor with a write-in campaign.

The Fairfax County Office of Elections finished tallying votes for Clifton mayor Tuesday, and Tom Peterson earned 67 write-in votes to beat Mayor William Hollaway, who earned 62.

“It doesn’t happen very often,” Peterson said of his write-in campaign success.

Though it’s only a five-vote lead, there won’t be a recount. Virginia allows recounts if the difference is less than 1%, and Peterson's lead is almost 4% because there were only 129 total votes in the race.

When Peterson’s wife urged him to run, the filing deadline had passed, so he ran against the six-term incumbent Hollaway off the ballot with just 10 yard signs.

But news traveled fast in the small town.

"There was a lot of energy," said Bennett Wyant, who voted for Peterson.

He said he and other Clifton voters were excited to actually have a choice for the first time in 12 years, even though Hollaway’s name was the only one on the ballot.

"Nothing against him in any way,” Wyant said. “But I think it was just time for a change."

Voter Carolyn Leetch said Peterson is well-liked in town and has a great resume as a local business owner and retired schoolteacher who also served two terms as mayor in 2006 and 2008.

"He's very honest; he's very fair,” Leetch said. “He was an excellent mayor."

Peterson said one of his first orders of town business might hurt his own business. He wants to update Main Street with a fresh design and safer sidewalks.

"Depending on the time of year, it's going to hurt our business, because they're going to take away a lot of parking while the construction is being done,” Peterson said. “But I think in the long run, it's a good thing for the town."

Hollaway has not replied to NBC Washington’s request for comment.