Democrat Bill Welch will take the reins as mayor of State College from Arnold Addison this January.

Welch, a member of the State College Borough Council, beat Republican candidate Joe Wakeley by more than 700 votes last night.

"(The voters) presumably felt that Welch was the best man for the job," said Welch, a council member since 1989.

Wakeley said he wishes Welch the best, although he thought the election results would be different.

"I thought it was going to be a little closer," Wakeley said, adding that he had no plans to return to local government at this time.

Welch's first priority as mayor will be to spend time with Addison and learn about his programs. Addison announced his retirement earlier this year after 16 years in office.

The transition should be easy because Welch has said he supports the way Addison has defined the mayor's role and plans to work with him to learn how the mayor works with his staff to coordinate activities and projects.

Welch said his main concerns include the lack of taxpayers of prime taxpaying age and the erosion of the borough's financial base.

During the campaign, Welch said he would actively solicit the opinions of those residents usually outside of the problem-solving loop by forming ad-hoc committees to monitor the borough's well-being.

He also said he would improve communication between the University and the borough and would continue the Student Leadership Task Force Addison established.

Council member-elect Janet Knauer said she is thrilled to work with Welch, adding that he has "a great mind and a great memory."

Another challenge Welch will face is affordable housing for all borough residents.

The mayor can help borough council with the affordable housing issue by communicating with residents, he said, adding that affordable housing could become controversial because of changing zoning regulations.

The council will be working with local banks to provide down payments to prospective first-time homeowners to buy housing in borough neighborhoods, he said.

Welch has also said he favors consolidation of the borough and College, Ferguson, Halfmoon, Harris and Patton townships into one municipality.

Collegian staff writer Michele Marchetti contributed to this report.