Challengers Jeff Katz and Paul Kuhn unseated incumbent village trustees Madalyn Cimino and Milo Stewart, Jr. Tuesday in one of the biggest voter turnouts in recent years for the annual village election.

Katz was the top vote getter with 329, followed by Kuhn at 322, Stewart at 288 and Cimino with 206.

"Obviously, I'm just thrilled," Katz said Wednesday morning. "I felt like I tapped into some energy in the village. I look forward to the hard work."

"I'm delighted," Kuhn said. "I want to thank everyone for their wonderful support."

Mayor Carol Waller said the election results were "very interesting" and that she was looking forward to working with both candidates.

"I'm really pleased with the candidates and the more people willing to work for the village the better," she said.

Waller said she had not yet made decisions about committee and board appointments for the two newcomers to the board, but said she believed Kuhn's knowledge of the village may be a benefit in working on the ongoing property re-val.

The mayor added that she heard Wednesday morning from both Cimino and Stewart, who told her they were interested in remaining active in village government on a volunteer basis.

Both Katz and Kuhn attributed their success to the fact that each of them knocked on every door in the village to get their message out to the voters.

"I do think going door-to-door is a huge thing," Katz said. "The key is always to go door-to-door and be in touch with the people.

By showing the voters how much work you will do before the election, they have an idea of how hard you are willing to work on the board, he said.

Another positive aspect to his campaigning was that it helped erase what Katz called the "newcomer" issue.

"It made me less mysterious," he said.

Katz also attributed some of his success to what he believed was a good performance in public forums like Candidate's Night.

"I worked very hard and knocked on every door in the village," Kuhn said. "I worked extremely hard and that's what it took to win."

Kuhn added that he took nothing for granted despite the fact that many people assured him he was well known in the village.

"I did not assume everyone knew what I've done for the village," he said.

He, too, believes that demonstrating a willingness to work hard to get elected weighed heavily with voters.

"If a candidate is willing to work hard to get elected, it is an indication of what he will do in office - he will work hard for you," Kuhn said. "It's probably one of the major reasons I'm a future trustee."

Katz said he is anxious to get to work as a trustee and admits that he will be doing a lot of listening for the first six months.

Increasing village revenues is one area he is interested in and believes there are many ways to approach the problem.

Kuhn, the current planning board chairman - a position he will relinquish when he becomes a trustee - would like to work on the proposed visitor center south of the village.

I'll work hard on whatever Carol wants me to work on - everything is important," he said. "I trust her to assign me to the things I can contribute the most on."

Waller said she has an individual in mind for the chair of the planning board, but was not ready to make an announcement.

Katz and Kuhn will be sworn in April 1.