Joshua Schaer won his seat on Issaquah City Council on Tuesday night, after being the only person from the four open seats to be challenged.

Schaer claimed 63 percent of the count as of Wednesday evening, and his challenger, Thomas John Filley, took 37 percent in the Nov. 8 vote.

If that trend continues, Schaer would be only one of two councilmen next year that had an opponent for their term.

He’s also the only candidate in the past eight years who has been challenged twice.

“We had a positive message, and I think people by and large are happy with how the city is doing,” Schaer said at his election party at the Issaquah Brewhouse.

Filley sent his congratulations to Schaer on Wednesday morning in an email.

“Though disappointed with the outcome,” he wrote. “I recognized from the beginning that it is rare for a newcomer to knock off an incumbent their first time out.”

Schaer was pleased with how much he learned about Issaquah residents through the campaign.

“It caused me to go out there get a pulse of the citizenry,” he said.

Next year Schaer hopes to focus on the Central Area Plan, which will determine what the city looks like in the next 30 years. His concern is how the plan would go about stirring development.

Fred Butler and Stacy Goodman returned to their seats unchallenged and Paul Winterstein will take over John Traeger’s position in January.