Voters called for a shakeup on the Chapel Hill Town Council this year as both incumbents, Ed Harrison and Maria Palmer, were unseated in last night’s election by challengers.

Hongbin Gu, a political newcomer endorsed by CHALT, the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town, and Indy Week, came in first place with 5,883 votes.

Gu was followed by Karen Stegman with 5,684 votes, Allen Buansi with 5,410 and Rachel Schaevitz with 5,076, all of whom were also CHALT endorsed candidates.

The top three candidates were separated by a slim margin, making for a highly contested race.

Incumbents Harrison and Palmer came in fifth and sixth place, respectively, by surprisingly large margins, followed by Carl Schuler.

Incumbents Sally Greene and George Cianciolo both decided against running for reelection, which opened the door for at least two challengers to win.

A write-in campaign was launched challenging Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger, but Hemminger easily won re-election.

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