Bell, council incumbents win (News and Observer)
DURHAM With 84 percent of votes counted, Mayor Bill Bell and three incumbentCity Council members were well on their way to landslide re-elections.
Returns from 49 of thecity’s 58 precincts showed Bell leading challenger Steven L. Williams 77 percent to 22percent, with a handful of write-in votes. Council members Cora Cole-McFadden, Howard Clement and Mike Woodard each had more than 70 percent.
The results culminated an election season that most citizens apparently were content to let pass them by. Turnout was light at precincts across the city, though better than the 4.36 percent who turned out for the Oct.6 primary. Several precincts had passed their total primary totals by midafternoon.
For those who did turn out, voting went off without a hitch, Elections Director Mike Ashe said: “Democracy is having a great day.”
Bell’s opponent, Steven L. Williams, initially set out to run against Bell for mayor in 2005 but withdrew before the election.
Donald Hughes, opposing Cole-McFadden for the Ward 1 seat; Matt Drew, facing Clement in Ward 2; and Allan Polak, opposing Woodard in Ward 3, were making their first bids for elective office.
Throughout the campaign, the incumbents emphasized their experience and accomplishments, such as Durham’s downtown revitalization, projects to revive depressed neighborhoods and attention to the city’s decayed water and sewer lines and potholed streets.
Bell and Cole-McFadden have held their positions since 2001. Woodard was first elected in 2005. Clement is the longest-serving council member in Durham history, with 26 years.
The newcomers challenged the city’s status quo, but from different perspectives. Williams and Hughes emphasized inclusiveness and attention to the city’s poor. Drew called for fiscal responsibility and restraint, and Polak stressed his business experience as owner of a small IT firm.
Published Wed, Nov 04, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Wed, Nov 04, 2009 08:41 AM
[email protected] or 919-932-2004
