Showing posts tagged “Jerry Ballan”

Everybody out of the pool: Martin the second GOP candidate to leave school board race

Lisa Sorg · 26 Jul 2009, 12:10 PM · Comment


Two days after Jerry Ballan dropped out of contention for Wake County School Board District 7, Ray Martin has bowed out of the District 9 race. The Wake County GOP executive committee had endorsed Ballan, but not Martin. The party has not yet decided whom to endorse in 7.

This press release from the Wake County Republican Party came over the transom this morning:

Ray Martin has withdrawn from the Wake County Board of Education race in District 9. The Executive Committee of the Wake County Republican Party had endorsed Debra Goldman, and Martin will now support her.

“The Wake GOP appreciates Ray’s decision to graciously step out of the race and endorse Debra Goldman,” said Chairman Claude E. Pope, Jr. “Ray is a committed Republican and educator, and he made this tough decision on his own, knowing that it is best to avoid a three-way race in this school board election. He stands with Debra on the need for common-sense approaches to improving the education of the students in Wake County and listening to the needs of families.”


Raleigh, Wake County, politics , , ,

Ballan drops out of Wake School Board race

Lisa Sorg · 24 Jul 2009, 3:21 PM · 1 Comment


This post was updated at 8:20 p.m. July 24.

District 7 Wake School Board candidate Jerry Ballan dropped out of the race today, according to an email he sent the Indy in response to our candidate questionnaire. Ballan declined to give a reason for his withdrawal.

The  Wake County GOP endorsed Ballan last week. According to Gail Marold of the Wake County Republican Party, the executive committee will meet again soon to endorse another candidate. The party is expected to announce its decision no later than Monday.

The Wake Schools Community Alliance has endorsed Deborah Prickett in District 7. Marold said WSCA’s “support isn’t a factor” in the GOP’s endorsements.

Update: the Wake GOP’s executive committee is scheduled to meet again Aug. 11. Here is a press release issued this evening by the party:

WAKE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY COMMENTS ON JERRY BALLAN’S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD RACE   RALEIGH, N.C. - July 24, 2009 - Jerry Ballan has announced his withdrawal from the Wake County Board of Education race in District 7.  The Wake County Republican Party had endorsed Ballan in this race.

“On behalf of the Wake County Republican Party, we respect Jerry’s personal decision to withdraw from the school board race,” said Wake GOP Chairman Claude E. Pope, Jr. “We appreciate all of his hard work on his campaign as well as his position on the key issues at hand.  Jerry has been a valuable contributor to the Wake GOP and we look forward to continue working with him in our voter outreach efforts.”

The Executive Committee of the Wake GOP will be meeting in the near future to discuss next steps regarding the District 7 school board election.  Ballan has chosen not to endorse the remaining two candidates, Deborah Prickett and Karen Simon.

Wake County, politics , , , ,

Czajkowski, Bell, Chilton, Meeker and Enloe file in CH, Durham, Carrboro, Raleigh for mayor

Lisa Sorg · 9 Jul 2009, 11:48 AM · Comment


Is that the sound of a cash register? First term Chapel Hill Town Councilman Matt Czajkowski has filed for mayor of Chapel Hill; like fellow mayoral candidate Augustus Cho, he has not opted to participate in the voter-owned election program, allowing them to raise large sums for their campaigns.

Czajkowski loaned himself more than $17,000 for his 2007 town council campaign.

Town Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt is also expected to run, but has yet to file.

Update at 5 p.m.: Matt Pohlman has filed for Chapel Hill Town Council. He has not enrolled in the voter-owned election program. Mark Chilton has filed for Carrboro mayor

In other Orange County filings, Gary Wallach and MaryAnne Gucciardi are running for Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board.

In Durham, the Ward 2 race got more interesting as a third candidate, Sylvester Williams, a minister, is running against incumbent Howard Clement III and Libertarian Matt Drew.

Update at 5 p.m.: Incumbent Cora Cole-McFadden has filed for Durham City Council in Ward I.

And in the No Big Surprise department, incumbent Mayor Bill Bell is running for a fifth term, effectively dousing Mike Woodard’s mayoral aspirations this year. Woodard is running for re-election to City Council.

In Wake County, candidate filings for District 7 are popping up like mushrooms after a rain: Deborah Prickett and Jerry Ballan are running against Karen Simon.

Meanwhile Rodger Koopman is running for re-election in District B and Anthony Integlia is the sole person seeking the District C seat. 

Update at 5 p.m.: Chris Augustine has filed for Wake School Board District 2, bringing the candidate total in that race to four. In Cary, Jennifer Robinson will face Cynthia Sinkez in District A. 

In Raleigh, incumbent Mayor Charles Meeker filed for re-election; he’ll face Mark Enloe, who also filed today. Nancy MacFarlane is running for another term in Council District A; currently, the only district without a candidate is District E.

Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Wake County, politics , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,