GREENFIELD — Four new faces will join the 13-member City Council in the new year following Tuesday night’s election.

John Garrett, Jesus Leyva and Wahab Minhas were in a contest to fill the positions being vacated by at-large councilors Phil Elmer and Christine Forgey, who are not seeking reelection. Garrett and Minhas won the seats with 1,991 and 2,811 votes, respectively, compared to Leyva’s 1,320 votes, according to unofficial election results.

“I’m thankful for the community’s support and hope I can do my best to support my hometown,” Minhas said Tuesday evening from the polls at Greenfield High School, where he awaited election results with his parents, Mohammad and Noreen Hamayun.

Garrett, who was at mayor-elect Ginny Desorgher’s watch party at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center Tuesday night, said he had no idea how the race would go.

“I’ve never run for anything before, so the fact I was able to get through in the first round is ... a little surreal,” Garrett said on Wednesday. “I'm happy it went the way it did.”

The election, which also included contested races for mayor, School Committee and the Board of Assessors, took place Tuesday at Greenfield High School.

Garrett, 36, who teaches high school history at Smith Academy in Hatfield, previously said as someone who was priced out of Easthampton, he wants to see Greenfield maintain its relative affordability and continue finding ways to reduce housing insecurity and homelessness. He said he was excited about the Main Street redevelopment project, which he anticipates will improve accessibility and bring more people into the downtown, spurring economic development.

Minhas, 26, previously said he hopes to use the position to help address the housing shortage and homelessness, which is also one of his key priorities. On the whole, Minhas said he wants to see a more transparent budgeting process for the public and he hopes to advocate on behalf of the Department of Public Works to ensure “basic things” such as sidewalks and roads can be fixed.

At her campaign party Tuesday evening, mayor-elect Ginny Desorgher, who defeated Mayor Roxann Wedegartner, congratulated Minhas and Garrett.

“That was a race with three great candidates,” she said.

Precinct seats

Four candidates ran unopposed to fill four precinct seats, including two who sought reelection.

Incumbent councilors Katherine Golub and John Bottomley, and newcomers Rachel Gordon and Michael Mastrototaro were all voted into office on Tuesday. Gordon and Mastrototaro are seeking to fill seats vacated by City Council President Dan Guin and Desorgher, who is currently Precinct 3’s councilor.

Appointed last summer to fill the vacancy left by former councilor Ed Jarvis, Golub, with 422 votes, is eager to continue representing Precinct 1 on the City Council. Golub, who works as a coaching facilitator, said she believes it’s her responsibility to advocate for changes needed at the state level with respect to education funding.

As the incoming Precinct 2 representative, Gordon, 42, serves as special deputy director to the executive director of Movement Voter Project, a nonprofit that supports grassroots groups around the country, specifically around democracy and voter engagement. Earning 477 votes Tuesday evening, Gordon previously said she’s most interested in getting to know what her precincts’ priorities are, and that she hopes to be able to provide regular updates to her constituents, informing them of actions taken by City Council.

Mastrototaro, 67, a Navy veteran and longtime Greenfield resident, previously said his key concerns include improving the downtown and attracting economic development; making sure schools are adequately funded; and cutting down on what he described as “reckless spending” so the city can afford necessary sidewalk and road repairs, as well as other infrastructure improvements. Earning 427 votes, Mastrototaro will serve as the Precinct 3 representative in the new year.

And finally, Bottomley will serve another term as the Precinct 4 councilor. Bottomley, who received 436 votes, said at a recent candidates forum that a  few of the issues that mean a lot to him include responsible fiscal policy, strong schools, good infrastructure and taking care of the environment.

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.