SMITHFIELD - Perry Harris defeated Tony Gupton in a hotly contested race in South Smithfield's District 2. Almost 500 voters turned out in the contest to fill the seat of Daniel Evans, who ran unopposed for mayor.

In his first months on the job, Harris said, he plans to focus on economic development, improving the deer hunt program, beautification of town entryways and crime problems near South Bright Leaf Boulevard.

"I'm going to try to start talking to all the councilmen to find out what topics are coming up in the next few months," Harris said.

Gupton said that though he lost, he was pleased that he and Harris ran positive campaigns and that 456 South Smithfield residents came out to the polls.

"Even though the turnout overall was low, I was surprised and impressed with the turnout in District 2," Gupton said. He's unsure whether he'll run for office again.

During the campaign, Harris had a number of campaign workers putting up signs and staffing polling places; Gupton ran his campaign largely by himself and with the support of family members.

In District 3 -- downtown and North Smithfield -- incumbent Vic Ogburn won a fifth term by only 15 votes, narrowly holding off challengers Travis Scott and Charles A. Williams. Turnout was low -- just 288 voters cast ballots.

Ogburn said he wasn't bothered by his small margin of victory. "All I wanted was one vote; that's all you need," he said. "I did a lot of hard work; I got out and got voters out."

Scott said having two challengers in the race could have been a factor in his loss, but it wasn't the only one.

"I think I needed more direct voter contact," Scott said, adding that he plans to look into other ways to serve the town.

Other races in Smithfield were uncontested.