Near the end of a year marked by controversy and change at the Madison Water Utility, the board that oversees the agency voted Tuesday to keep incumbent president Priscilla Mather at the helm.

Mather was elected president of the Board of Water Commissioners over challenger Jon Standridge, a commissioner who has been an outspoken critic of utility officials and sometimes the board itself.

The five-member board - short a member because commissioner Larry Studesville resigned earlier Tuesday - has at times in the past year seemed overwhelmed by problems with the utility. Those problems started with the utility's slow response to manganese polluting the drinking water flowing to some Madison homes. But other problems arose, including communication failures, poor management within the utility, shoddy record keeping and inadequate attention to the replacement of aging water mains and wells.

In the face of growing public concern about management of the city's drinking water, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz issued a 10-point plan for correcting the problems and restoring public faith in the utility. And while he renewed the contract of David Denig-Chakroff, the utility's general manager, he included several performance standards in the contract that require correction of the shortcomings.

All of that loomed over the board Tuesday night as it elected a new president. Standridge said he sought the post because he has felt the board was too passive in the face of growing public discontent.

"We really need to assume more oversight, to take that role more seriously," said Standridge. He also said he wanted to see the board deal with more substantial issues during meetings rather than rubber-stamping financial and engineering reports from utility administrators.

And Standridge called for the board to develop a greater sense of mission about its management of the utility. "We need to set a clear vision," he said. "We need to know clearly where we are going."

Mather said she differed with Standridge on "the level of involvement by the board" in overseeing the utility's operation.

Despite Standridge's plea for change, other board members said continuity was more important. "When an organization has experience the turmoil that this one has, wholesale change is dangerous," said board member and alderwoman Lauren Cnare. "We have to make the changes incrementally."

Cnare, who voted for Mather, said Tuesday night's discussion was difficult and compared it to family therapy.

Board member Greg Harrington also voted for Mather. He said keeping her in the post would also show the board has faith in current management, including Denig-Chakroff.

After the vote, Mather and Cnare both said they would like to see the board embrace Standridge's suggestions for change, especially about adopting a clearer mission. Standridge was pleased with that.

"I think we planted the seeds," said Standridge.