WESTERLO — In this rural Helderberg Hilltown, dominated by Democrats for decades, a Republican newcomer to politics, Richard Filkins, has ousted a longtime Democratic councilman, William Bichteman. Democratic incumbent Joseph Boone was the top vote-getter.

“I was surprised — it was a shocker,” said Filkins after the election. “I didn’t think I had a chance to win.”

He credits his victory to advice his father gave him long ago. “My dad always told me, ‘Do the best you can, no matter what,’” said Filkins. “I knocked on over 600 doors.”

Filkins also said of the Republican surge across the Hilltowns, with Democratic incumbents ousted, “I think everybody’s getting tired of following along in the same old way … That’s why Trump got in. The whole country is upset with the way the political system is working now.”

Republican Kevin Flensted, making his second run for town board, came in a close fourth in Tuesday’s election, just three votes behind Bichteman, according to unofficial results from the Albany County Board of Elections.

Two years ago was the first time in decades that the GOP put up a full slate. All three of the Republican board candidates were newcomers to politics. Longtime Democratic Supervisor Richard Rapp got 55 percent of the vote, winning a four-year term, while Republican Amie Burnside was the top vote-getter in the four-way council race for two seats, ousting an incumbent Democrat. Flensted had come in a close third.

Since Rapp suffered a stroke, Bichteman has been the dominant force on the board. During the campaign he said he was running for a second four-year term because, Bichteman said, “I think my services are needed. I think I help. I work well with the rest of the board and the supervisor.”

He came under sharp criticism from some for the handling of proposals to improve town buildings. Westerlo residents twice voted down upgrades for the town hall. The first time, the plan included replacing the old highway garage and was soundly defeated. The second time, the plan was scaled back to upgrading the town hall and was narrowly defeated.

Bichteman, who is retired from owning a construction company, said during the campaign, “Some mistakes were made early on in planning for the town hall and highway garage. It wasn’t intentional,” he said of unadvertised meetings. “It was an impromptu thing to get togethers not allowed by the Open Meetings Law. Once that was identified — we knew it ourselves — the policy was changed. We made a strict policy,” he said, of following the state law and not meeting without advanced notice to the public.

On Wednesday, asked why he thought he lost, Bichteman said, “I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t brag enough.”

Asked if he thought Filkins’s victory and his ouster was part of the Republican surge across the Hilltown this election, Bichteman said, “I really don’t care about Republicans or Democrats. I was doing something I thought was helpful for the town.”

Asked about his role in leading the board, he said of Rapp, “Dick certainly has served the town for years and years. Personal issues have taken away from the time he needs to serve as supervisor. As the only retired member of the board, I took on extra responsibility and was criticized for it. I guess the voters didn’t like it.”

Boone, who works in sales at Hannay Reels and grew up in Westerlo, was elected a year ago, after being appointed to fill a vacancy. He was not on the board when the first plan for upgrading town buildings was soundly defeated.

Both Republicans focused on transparency as an issue, promising a government that would actively reach out to citizens. Both of the Republicans also favored town-wide property revaluation — Westerlo properties are currently at less than 1 percent of market value since property has not been revalued in decades. Both of the Democrats said that reassessing properties would lead to large tracts of now-open land — one of the primary draws or Westerlo — being sold for development.

Boone said during the campaign that one of his goals, if elected, would be to “bring in more business.”

On Wednesday, Boone said, “I am extremely humbled and grateful for the privilege to serve my second term.” He also said he looks forward to working with Filkins and doesn’t think having another Republican on the board will change much, explaining, “People don’t focus on parties. They focus on goals to better the town.”

Filkins said during his campaign, “The current board doesn’t take into account everyone in town. You should serve everybody, not just a select group.”

Filkins, 70, is a Vietnam veteran and has retired from his railroad work as a diesel mechanic; he has lived in Westerlo since 1966.

His running mate, Flensted, 45, works as manager of quality compliance for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He moved to Westerlo in 2007 and is the chief of the town’s volunteer fire company.

He said during the campaign that he felt the current board is “very resistant” to change.

After the election, Filkins said he would like to see the town develop a 5- or 10-year plan “and stick to it, not go year by year like they do now.” He cited the fire company as an example of good management with a “20-year plan for replacing fire trucks … That cuts down on maintenance and you don’t have to buy two or three trucks at the same time.”

He also said, “I’d like to thank everyone in the town who supported me. I told Joe Boone I’ll keep an open mind. I’m there for all the people of the town. I have no personal agenda. I want to keep transparency coming and get more people to meetings. A lot of people in town have knowledge. If we got knowledge from those people, we’d be leaps ahead.”

Democrats make up about half of Westerlo’s registered voters, about a fifth are Republicans, and almost a quarter are unaffiliated. The rest belong to small parties.

Boone garnered 524 votes, over 29 percent, all of them on the Democratic line. Filkins got 492 votes, over 27 percent; most of them — 352 — were on the Republican line; he also got 136 Conservative votes and 4 Reform party votes. Bichteman came in third a with 388 votes, all on the Democratic line. And Kevin Flensted came in a close fourth with 385 votes; most of them — 275 — were on the Republican line and 10 were on the conservative line.

Two other Westerlo offices — town justice and highway superintendent — were uncontested.

Jody Ostrander, who was appointed by the town board in June to replace the retiring superintendent, Keith Wright, ran on three lines: He garnered 459 Democratic votes, 283 Republican votes, and 121 Conservative votes for a total of 863.

Democrat Kenneth Mackey ran unopposed on the Democratic line, receiving 649 votes. Mackey, 62, who is a welder at Hannay Reels, won a third four-year term. “It’s the most exciting job I’ve ever had,” he said.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2017: Comments were added from William Bichteman and Joseph Boone.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2017: Comments were added from Richard Filkins.