Updated April 8, 1:20 a.m.

Ald. Elizabeth Tisdahl (7th) will be the next mayor of Evanston.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the former alderman and school board president had nearly 62 percent of the vote, easily beating three rivals, none of whom could muster more than 18 percent in an election marked by surprisingly low turnout.

Retired lawyer Stuart Opdycke finished second with 17.6 percent, small-business owner Barnaby Dinges received 12.4 percent of the vote and urban planner Jeanne Lindwall finished a distant fourth with 8 percent.

“I’d like to be really clear about one thing,” said Tisdahl, speaking to supporters shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. “I love each and every one of you.”

Lipstick marks dotted her cheeks when she made her victory speech Tuesday night. The congratulatory kisses came early, since Tisdahl looked to be the winner by 8 p.m., just an hour after the polls closed.

When the results were clear, the mayor-elect stood on a chair at Koi, 624 Davis St., to be seen by more than 60 people who attended her watch party. She thanked those who had volunteered throughout her five-month campaign and asked for their assistance in the future.

“I’ve talked throughout this campaign about the community’s need to help me if I am elected,” said the mayor-elect. “So if I am elected – and I think I am – don’t think that helping me is over and done with.”

As her family, friends and campaign volunteers wore their “I voted” stickers and munched on gyoza, Tisdahl said she was proud of the way her campaign was run.

“I’ve been asked to say a lot of words I don’t want to say tonight about this election, but I would like to say one thing, that I think this was a campaign that stuck to the issues,” she said. “We did not indulge in negative campaigning at all.”

Meanwhile, just a couple blocks away, lifelong Evanston resident Opdycke gathered with 50 friends and supporters to watch the results at his house.

At about 8:45 p.m., Opdycke called Tisdahl to congratulate her on her imminent victory. With most of the votes tallied, Opdycke had secured a second place finish.

“The race is over, I’m not going to have to declare a recount after all,” he joked in a speech to his supporters. “I never have to ask myself ‘what if?’ I’m glad it’s over, I had a lot of fun doing it, and I worked very hard. I’m just overwhelmed with the support and affection you’ve shown me.”

Standing among the supporters, volunteer Andrew DeYoe said Opdycke ran an “honorable campaign” and finished off strong given the level of competition.

For Dinges, his distant third place finish was unexpected.

Congregating with about 40 people at his campaign headquarters, 1000 Foster Ave., he mingled and took in the nervous buzz. After the results were announced, he remained upbeat, speaking highly of his supporters.

“I want to say from the bottom of my heart how thankful I am to everybody here,” he said in a concession speech at around 8:30 p.m. “Let’s have some fun, let’s drink some beer and wine, let’s eat some pizza and let’s talk about making Evanston a better place to live.”

Dinges volunteer and NU student Emily Garrett was disappointed in the results, but not the work the campaign had done.

“Not the result I was hoping for, but I still think a lot of good came of it,” the SESP sophomore said.

Dinges later reiterated his congratulations for Tisdahl, though he did throw one more campaign barb at her, seemingly in jest.

“I congratulate Ald. Tisdahl and the Evanston machine for rolling over the rest of us,” he said.

Lindwall, gathering with supporters at Dave’s Italian Kitchen, 1635 Chicago Ave., called the election “an interesting experience” and said she was “pleased with the way I did it.”

Both current mayor Lorraine Morton and her predecessor, Jay Lytle, attended Tisdahl’s celebration.

“Liz is just so involved on the council,” Morton said. “Being mayor doesn’t mean she has to start with a zero on the learning curve.”

Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd), who was re-elected Tuesday night and earlier endorsed Tisdahl, called the race a “good election for the most part.”

“The city has won,” he said, speaking of his hopes for the new government. “It’ll be different, but it’ll be good.”

Brian Rosenthal contributing reporting.

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Read more about low voter turnout in the Evanston elections.