Marathon voters face an important decision in Tuesday's City Council election with two incumbents and four challengers vying for two at-large seats.</p><p>This will be the third election cycle with the at-large model, which replaced district contests. The two highest vote-getters earn two-year terms.</p><p>Four of the six candidates offer voters a lot, including one former mayor who's making his third try at regaining elected office, and a political newcomer who offers some fresh ideas.</p><p>One political newcomer, Kevin Kenney, is not a serious candidate. And perennial candidate "Bicycle" Joanie Nelson is on autopilot, repeating the same "little people" mantra from previous campaigns -- all of which have fallen far short.</p><p>The two incumbents, Mike Cinque and Don Vasil, are running on their records, which is a rare thing indeed, especially here in the Keys.</p><p>And it says something about how well the Marathon City Council has maneuvered its way through the toughest economic crisis in modern times, reducing payroll and cutting taxes while most other Keys taxing bodies were unable to match that fiscal performance.</p><p>That may explain why this election has been so quiet. There are no large protest voting blocs and the era of long and contentious council meetings seems to be long gone.</p><p>We endorsed Cinque two years ago. We've watched him grow in the job. And we've watched Cinque, appointed mayor by his fellow council members, not shy away from making tough decisions on sewers, Boot Key, city hall and replacing the previous city fire chief.</p><p>He demonstrated leadership during last week's management crisis that led to the resignation of Clyde Burnett as city manager.</p><p>And Cinque has been careful about spending -- the past two years with lower taxes is a key test. Voters should return Cinque for another two years.</p><p>Vice Mayor Vasil, whom we didn't endorse in his first race, is often the sole no vote on the council, especially when it comes to spending money. He voted no on the city's 2009-10 budget, arguing the council should have dipped into reserves to provide more relief to taxpayers.</p><p>In his constant push to spend less, he even suggested city hall should move from leased trailers to the new fire station at Florida Keys Marathon Airport. That one, fortunately, didn't get much headway.</p><p>He and Cinque are both critical of 10-year development agreements negotiated by previous councils, and Vasil took on developers over affordable housing units promised but never delivered.</p><p>Vasil also gets credit for focusing the council and Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Committee on Boot Key Harbor as the city's biggest, unrealized asset. Even though he sometimes comes across as playing to the cheap seats, he believes in his role as penny pincher and deserves to be re-elected.</p><p>Former Mayor John Bartus is making a comeback run. We've endorsed Bartus in his previous three campaigns, but not this time. We'd like to see him focus his talent on business development ideas with the chamber, where he helped lead a much-needed revitalization effort.</p><p>Newcomer Richard Keating is a refreshing new face on the political scene and has garnered strong support from commercial fishing interests and his close ally Councilman Pete Worthington.</p><p>Keating wants to see tougher code enforcement, a focus on small business catering to families, and developing more docks and dock space. He's been critical of former city manager Burnett. And Keating believes Marathon's economic future is tied to expanding the runway at the airport.</p><p>This is his first go at running for office and we encourage him to get more involved on a city advisory board, learn more about Marathon's critical issues and make another run when he can offer voters more experience along with his energy and enthusiasm.