The race really couldn’t have been much closer. After the initial vote count, a single-machine recount, absentee ballot count and, finally, a provisional ballot count, nearly 10,000 Bristol votes were tallied and the separation between the two candidates was all of 43 votes.

Former Deputy Police Chief Steven Contente just barely came out on top, nudging Tony Teixeira out of office to become the new Bristol Town Administrator. Assuming the ongoing full recount doesn’t change the results, Mr. Contente will assume the town’s top job on Dec. 5, when he will begin administering a very divided town.

It’s a reality most winners of political races must face — nearly half the people wanted the other guy. Given his razor-thin margin of victory, It would be understandable if Mr. Contente didn’t exactly feel a mandate to enact his agenda. But he said he is ready to take the reins and run the town administration, which he vows will be wide open and accessible to residents.

“I’m confident things will keep moving forward,” he said. “I’m very optimistic about the future of Bristol.”

As all residents should be. Nothing is ever perfect, but, in general, crime is low, downtown storefronts are mostly occupied, access to the waterfront has increased, with more promised thanks to passage of state question 8 — the Green Economy bond — on Election Day. The wedding industry continues to be a boon to the local economy, and community events continue to attract thousands to town.

That’s not to say there aren’t problems to tackle. The tax rate has increased the past couple years, and a revaluation of town property is scheduled in the next couple years, for which the town needs to prepare now, given the debacle of the last revaluation. Perhaps most pressing is Bristol’s appeal of a state court ruling forcing the town to pay upwards of $2 million more a year into the regional school district.

On Election night, Mr, Teixeira pointed to the positives in town, and expressed surprise that voters called for a change in direction. But that change is coming beginning Dec. 5. As divided as the vote showed residents to be, they must now come together to give Mr. Contente the chance to fix the failures and continue the successes.