Three incumbents who backed a Columbus income-tax increase that took effect less than five weeks before Election Day held on to their jobs, according to unofficial returns.

Democrats Priscilla R. Tyson, A. Troy Miller and Eileen Paley led a seven-candidate field with a combined 57 percent of the vote.

Republican Matt Ferris trailed Paley by fewer than 1,140 votes. That margin was too big to trigger an automatic recount, said Matt Damschroder, assistant director of the Franklin County Board of Elections.

"Victory is sweet," said Miller, who was appointed to the council in January and had about 18.6 percent of the vote in his first run for office.

He thanked voters for approving the city's income-tax increase in the Aug. 4 special election. City Council President Michael C. Mentel, however, thanked his council colleagues for supporting the tax hike during an election year.

"They supported an issue that in the middle of a campaign takes guts," Mentel told Democrats gathered Downtown at the Westin Columbus Hotel.

And although it was Columbus voters who gave final approval to the tax increase, turnout was less than 16.5 percent in the Aug. 4 special election, and the margin of victory was less than 4 percentage points.

Tyson, Miller and Paley, who ran a combined campaign funded overwhelmingly by the Franklin County Democratic Party, jointly declared victory at about 11 p.m.

Ferris, a high-profile opponent of the tax increase who raised well over $100,000 for the council race, acknowledged his fourth-place finish.

"We did everything we possibly could," he said shortly after midnight. "We were fighting the machine the whole time."

Early in the night, he said his campaign worked hard on getting supporters to vote early. Ferris said if he couldn't keep the absentee numbers close, he wouldn't have a chance.

Democrats had feared that their seven-year lock on City Hall might come to an end this election. Miller and Paley were largely unknown to voters before their appointments in January; Tyson had been on the ballot only once before, winning a two-year term in 2007.

Paley, who was considered to be most at risk, spoke about surviving the threat.

"I'm here," she told Democrats.

Party leaders said a big push on the final weekend helped get Paley into the winners circle. Late campaign ads also put the focus her instead of the entire slate.

"We worked out butts off. We had a good ground operation," said William A. Anthony Jr., chairman of the county Democratic Party.

He said campaign workers and volunteers knocked on doors, distributed fliers and made calls to get out the party's voters.

"It's hard to beat an incumbent, particularly in the city of Columbus," Anthony said.

Democrats have held every office at Columbus City Hall since 2003, when Republican Jennette Bradley resigned from the council to become Ohio's lieutenant governor. Republicans haven't won a citywide election in Columbus since Bradley's last victory in 1999.

Democrats won two other city offices on yesterday's ballot as well. Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian was unchallenged for an 11th four-year term, and City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. was unchallenged for his second full term.

rvitale@dispatch.com