In what he calls "a message loud and clear," Bob Corby takes the election for Village of Pittsford mayor in a landslide vote, almost tripling Pierson's number of votes in this race.

That's surprising mainly because Corby ran as a Democrat this year after having held office for 20 years as a Republican here in Pittsford. The GOP went with a new candidate this year in Pierson, but was handed a resounding defeat.

Central to this race has always been a disagreement over a housing development on Monroe Avenue. Pierson supports it, but Corby, now the winner of this race, opposes it, saying it doesn't fit the character of the village.

Tuesday night, both men held their ground on that issue; Corby even brushing it off.

"I still think that the apartment complex is something that would be great for the village. It'll be interesting to see where it goes from here. But I stand by 167 units in the village would be helpful for the business district. It'd be helpful for the citizens," Pierson said.

"The election has never been about the apartment complex for us. It's been about what we've done for the last 20 years, which is protecting, preserving the character of this village, our residential neighborhoods, the things that make this village a great place to live and work," Corby said.

With this victory, Corby says he plans to put in place what he calls his nine-point plan for the future of the Village of Pittsford, dealing with such things as traffic flow, budget issues, local village development and other types of things.

The work continues here Wednesday night with a budget meeting for the Village Board and its newly re-elected mayor.

Bob Corby, a life-long Republican, has had the party backing in each of his previous elections, but this time, the party endorsed his challenger Trip Pierson.

Corby says this has been the most challenging campaign in his 20 years as mayor.

"We had a terrific campaign. We had an incredible grassroots organization of tons of people that put in hours and hours, week after week, month after month. I'm very proud of the tenor and tone of our campaign. We kept it positive all the way through until the end. And regardless of what happens tonight, it was a great experience," said Corby.

A residential housing development at 75 Monroe Avenue is the central issue in this election. Corby says he doesn't believe the design fits the character of the village. Pierson thinks otherwise.

Those casting votes are just as divided on that development as the two men running for mayor.

"Have you ever gone up Monroe Avenue between 3:30 and 6 at night? It's horrible, it's gridlock. And if they have a restaurant there that going to be open until 2 in the morning with live entertainment that does nothing for the village, it really doesn't," said Elaine Roman.

"The village should initiate a half percent tax and the extra people would keep the village more lively and extra money and stuff like that for the village," said Glenn Schaefer.

Even though residents believe the project on Monroe Avenue is the big issue in this mayor's race, the challenger for the seat thinks otherwise.

Pierson says 75 Monroe Avenue is what many are basing their decision. However, he believes there are other issues in the village that are more important.

"We're over budget right now. We have to make major cuts and I think a lot of that has to do with open, honest leadership and a lack of it. We spend so much money on our legal fees and to me, that's something we should be focusing on. How we make sure we get along with the people that live in this community, that work in this community, that travel through this community and we don't do a very good job of that right now," Pierson said.