A North Bend incumbent lost his city council seat Tuesday, while a challenger returned to office after a 10-year absence.

Voters re-elected incumbents Janet Rubin and Howard Graham but preferred former councilor and business owner Mike Erbele over incumbent Frank Amatisto. The four candidates were competing for three at-large seats.

With nearly all votes counted, Graham had 2,470 votes, or 27 percent. Erbele had 2,443 votes, or 26.7 percent. Rubin had 2,395 votes, or 26.2 percent. Amatisto had 1,770 votes, or 19.3 percent.

Mayor Rick Wetherell, running unopposed, received 3,460 votes. There were 114 write-ins.

Amatisto, 71, said he wasn’t upset about being, in his words, “the lowest on the totem pole.”

“Well, if that’s the way it’s gonna be, that’s the way it’s gonna be. It’s one of those things,” Amatisto said. “It must be God’s will. He must have something else for me to do.”

Erbele, 62, was glad to hear he was among the top three. He added that he lost an election in 1998 by 14 votes for a council seat after serving two years.

“I’m very happy and hopefully I can make an impact,” Erbele said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what the city is up to and what the citizens are after.”

He said he didn’t know if he’d make much of a difference in the dynamic or decisions made by a council known for cooperation.

“You’ve got four votes to change anything. That’s one thing I learned on the council when I was on through ’96 to ’98, it takes four votes,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep our finances under control in the times that are coming. We got to watch very carefully that we keep things under control.”

Rubin and Graham said they were grateful to voters for choosing them once again to lead the city, though they were disappointed for Amatisto.

“I’m certainly thrilled that I’m having another term and I’m really pleased for Howard as well,” said Rubin, a councilor of eight years.

Graham, a North Bend city councilor since 1998, added he’s looking forward to serving the city once again.

“I will do my best for the next four years,” he said.