The race for next year’s seat on the City Council in the 2nd Ward – the area where most of the University is located – is down to two candidates after Tuesday’s primary: Paul Zerby and Cam Gordon.

Incumbent Joan Campbell garnered the third-most votes and will not move on to the Nov. 6 general election.

Zerby took home the most votes, winning 33.8 percent.

He spent the evening celebrating with friends, family and supporters at his home, which doubled as his campaign headquarters. He credited his success to his wife Betts.

“There are two things that did it for me: one was door-knocking and the other was Betts,” Zerby said of the victory.

“I know he could do the best job of any of them,” Betts Zerby said.

Zerby, a lawyer and journalist, compared his campaign win to a stop in a marathon, saying, “We have to go through it and keep going.

“I plan to go see if I can get the endorsement of the DFL, which is my party,” Zerby said.

He said City Hall and all of Minneapolis will benefit from his experience representing government agencies and environmental interests as a lawyer.

Long-time friend Charlie Howard said of the victory, “Paul’s been a friend for all these years. I’m glad to see him summon the energy to do this, embark on something new.”

An optimistic mood permeated the small crowd gathered to celebrate at the Seward Cafe.

Gordon was among four winning City Council candidates of the Green Party. Each took their turn standing on a chair, thanking their supporters.

From here, Gordon said he plans to “rest a bit and regroup.” He also said he will look at his campaign strategy to see what worked well and what needs to be improved.

“I am very excited and happy, proud and grateful,” Gordon said.

Campbell, who has been a Council Member for 12 years, said she was disappointed about losing.

“However, I’ve been a public employee for over 40 years and I can retire quite comfortably,” Campbell added.

When asked if voters overlooked anything, Campbell said, “I think the one thing that I’ve tried to get the message out was the importance of experience in City Hall,” she said. “I think that’s going to be a big loss, not just for me but for the number of people that are leaving.”