COOS BAY — Coos Bay incumbents and business owners were in good shape in late election returns Tuesday. Jeff McKeown appeared in line to retain his mayorship, while Jon Eck and Gene Melton looked like they would stay on the council.

If returns hold true in the final tally, Joanie Johnson and John Pundt will join their ranks, replacing Michele Burnette, who didn’t seek to defend her seat, and John Muenchrath, whose bid to unseat McKeown looked in peril.

The incumbents and several candidates assembled at City Hall at 7 p.m. for the city council meeting.

Neither McKeown nor Muenchrath said they had an idea of what to expect.

McKeown thought it would be a close race, though he may get a wider margin of victory.

Returns at 10 p.m. had McKeown leading 54 to 40 percent over Muenchrath. Fred Kirby, who withdrew from the race but remained on the ballot, had about 6 percent of the vote.

Returns were a little less than two-thirds of ballots.

“Frankly, it’s been an honor to severe these past two years as mayor and the 10 years before that on the council,” McKeown said after the council meeting. “If I get the chance for another two years, it would be another honor.”

Once the initial returns came in, McKeown said he was surprised by the margin, though he was hoping to see more returns before declaring victory.

“It was wider than I expected,” he said. “I feel reasonably good, but not comfortable.”

Following the meeting, Muenchrath struck a more moderate tone.

“Win, lose or draw, the campaign was a great experience,” he said after the meeting. “It was fun.”

He didn’t sound concerned about the prospect of losing a seat on the council.

“If I lose, (I get) Tuesday nights off,” he said, pumping his fist.

McKeown said he enjoyed going door to door as part of his campaign. He heard a lot of neighborhood issues, though discussions almost always returned to the economy.

He said the city would need to move quickly ahead with some of its building projects, including a new fire station, visitor center and Hollering Place, to help the local construction industry.

He also said his second term as mayor would require more jurisprudence.

“The difficult economy puts on a whole different focus,” he said. “We have to be careful that we are prepared.”

Eck said he is looking forward to working with new council members and setting goals.

“I don’t have all the answers, so I’m interested in seeing what the new councilors would like to work on,” he said.

When the returns came in, Melton said he was pleased with the early returns.

“We are keeping some good people on the council and it looks like we are getting some good new ones, too,” he said.

Joanie Johnson, who was second in early returns behind Eck in the council race, didn’t see early results until shortly after 10 p.m.

“Oh wow. I’m absolutely floored!,” she said as she spoke over the phone. “Wow. Wow. That is super. I’m honored.”

She said she was glad to see Melton and Eck returning to the council, as well as McKeown.

“I’m very pleased,” she said. “Jeff is so good with public relations. He’s a man of integrity.”

She said her priorities if the results hold up will be to develop a shopping district and move the Hollering Place project forward.

“Those two things will benefit our community the most,” she said.

Eck had 18 percent of the vote, with Johnson just under 18 and Melton with 16. Pundt was running ahead of fellow Empire resident Thomas Kramer, 10.54 percent to 8.60 percent, or 1,420 votes to 1,159.

“It’s not over till it’s over, but I’m excited,” Pundt said.

Owner of Stray Kats Bar and ORCoast Music, Pundt said he said he heard a lot of people concerned about the role of small business in the community. He also said people seemed encouraged by his promises that he would reach out to voters and use their input to make a decision.

“I really want to get a handle in how our government operates here locally and get a feel for what the citizens want,” he said.

The fourth-place finisher will serve on the council for two years, completing the term of Roger Gould, who stepped down earlier this year. He was replaced by Melton, who appears likely to garner one of the three four-year terms up for grabs.

Filling out the race, David Engholm was sixth with 8.14 percent of the vote, Howard Forte and Pickering were nearly even with 7 percent and Daniel Baumann with 5 percent.