FOSTER CITY — Voters chose a well-established challenger to join incumbent Pam Frisella on the City Council.

Charlie Bronitsky defeated three other candidates Tuesday to gain the open council spot. Bronitsky, who is president-elect of the Foster City Rotary Club, a center of influence in city politics, used his four years of experience in city government on the Planning Commission to set himself apart from the other candidates.

Frisella was the top vote-getter, with 30.4 percent, while Brontisky garnered 23.1 percent. Martial arts studio owner Herb Perez was third, with 19.1 percent of the vote, and business owner Wing Yu and community activist Linda Haskin were fourth and fifth, with 18.5 and 8.9 percent, respectively.

"I think it shows that Foster City is a community that votes for people who are experienced and understand the community," Bronitsky said of the results.

Frisella asked voters to return her to the City Council for a second term to allow her to follow through on projects she's worked on, particularly Mirabella San Francisco Bay, the retirement community planned for 15 acres next to City Hall. She said Wednesday she is gratified by the trust and comfort voters demonstrated in supporting her.

"I'm excited that I'm more knowledgeable," said Frisella, looking ahead to her second her term. "I'm excited that I just feel prepared now. I don't know that I was prepared the first four."

Bronitsky said he hopes the

Perez said last week he was contemplating legal action against those he believed were responsible for what he termed a "smear campaign" against him, including one of the candidates and a group of local homeowners who have complained about the noise emanating from Gold Medal Martial Arts, the studio he owns in Edgewater Place Shopping Center.

If the late bid to discredit Perez hurt his campaign, it wasn't readily apparent in the polling numbers. Perez received 18 percent of the vote among early mail ballots and slightly more than 20 percent at the polls on Tuesday.

Perez, displeased with the Times' coverage of the noise dispute, declined a chance to comment Wednesday.

Yu said he felt his campaign did "pretty well" overall, though he had been hoping to place at least third. Bronitsky did a terrific job of winning over mail voters, Yu said.

"It looked like the absentee results were impossible for us to overcome," he said.

Frisella noted that Yu would make a good candidate to replace Bronitsky on the Planning Commission, something Yu said he will consider and discuss with his wife.

"It is something I'm considering among other service-related opportunities that have opened up in the course of campaigning," he said.

Despite her loss, Haskin said she will continue to be a presence at City Hall. One of her top issues was the threat of traffic congestion in the heart of the city due to four major developments in the city's planning pipeline, and the City Council will continue to grapple with that issue in coming years.

"Pam and Charlie are good people, and I certainly wish them well," Haskin said of the victors. "I don't always agree with them, but they're good people. They've done a lot for the community."