The mood was about as festive as it could have been at  the Villa Maria and the polls had only closed for five minutes.

Victory by Mayor Jimmy Davis was virtually assured when sources reported that the mayor took 57 percent of the absentee ballots.

But across the street in the top room of the San Vito restaurant, people were more cautious.

Workers answered the phones, punched at their phones and quickly tabulated the unofficial, but very credible, results.

The restaurant was where the raw numbers came in; the banquet hall across Broadway was for partying.

Davis was saying nothing until enough of the numbers were in. Joining him in waiting was state Sen. Sandra Cunningham, D-31st, a key supporter.

But the mayor’s demeanor – smiling and jovial – made clear this was going to be a good night.

At 8:29 p.m., one of the tabulators asked – almost nonchalantly – “Is the mayor still here?”

The answer was yes.

“He’s still the mayor” was the reply.

The crowd erupted in shouts of joy. Things became even more uproarious when it was announced that the mayor won outright. He had a clear majority. The absentee ballots accurately predicted what was to come.

There will be no runoff.

Eventually, Davis descended the stairs and crossed Broadway to reach  the catering hall and his victory party. Traffic stopped and horns beeped as the reelected mayor and his horde of happy supporters made the crossing.

Jason O’Donnell, the mayor’s main challenger, was not available by phone as the results became known.

“This is a big win,” said Phil Swibinski, the mayor’s spokesman. “It’s an enormous mandate for what the mayor is doing for Bayonne.”

By now the only problem was funneling people into the Villa Maria. It was a long slog as the masses squeezed through the door.

When the crowd finally got inside, the mayor took the stage.

“I want to say to everyone in this room and to everyone in Bayonne, thank you,” he said.
Davis added, “Hard work always pays off.”

With that, the crowd broke into the familiar, but telling, political chant of “Four More Years, Four More Years.”

As the crowd then headed for the bar for pizza, which was free, and booze, which was not, Davis campaign manager Joe DeMarco offered a most understated assessment of the day’s events.

“Not a bad campaign,” he said.