Thomas Chittenden and Pat Nowak survived vigorous election challenges for their South Burlington City Council seats Tuesday.

Nowak beat Jimmy Leas 1,811 to 1,512 in a contest in which Leas claimed the incumbent did little to protect city residents from airport noise and home demolitions.

Nowak thanked her supporters after the victory, saying via email that she was "very happy to be continuing on the SB City Council and very appreciative of the support I received from so very many residents."

Chittenden defeated Katie Langrock 1,843 votes to 1,584 in a race that also touched on the Burlington International Airport. Chittenden pushed for possible new governance over the the Burlington-owned commercial and military airport.

"I want to thank all of the supporters of my campaign that were entirely positive and supportive. I couldn't have won without their support and I look forward to continuing to earn it," Chittenden said in a statement late Tuesday night.

Langrock, meanwhile, thanked her supporters in spite of the defeat and said the campaign had been a "wonderful experience."

Nowak's opponent, Leas, said he was gratified by the number of votes he received, even though he lost.

Leas noted that he won in the Chamberlin district, which is most affected by the airport.

"The campaign was a huge opportunity to launch the idea that South Burlington use its municipal tax authority to protect homes, neighborhoods, and families remaining in the noise zones," Leas said via email. "The idea is to adopt taxes that give Burlington strong fiscal reason to require its tenant, the Vermont Air National Guard, to stop generating so much noise."