Joe Schwartz ·
4 Nov 2009, 3:31 AM ·
Comment
*Reporter’s note: Scroll to the bottom if you want the quickie results from Election Day (no suprises in Carrboro or Hillsborough. CHCCS followed the Indy endorsement. Chapel Hill Town Council went to Penny Rich, Ed Harrison, Laurin Easthom and Gene Pease). If you’d like to read a scene-setting piece from Chapel Hill Mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt’s victory party, then read on.
Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt celebrates his mayoral victory as his twin sister clutches his shoulder and his mom bursts into tears.
Supporters erupted. His mother burst into tears. His sister shouted. Mark Kleinschmidt just smiled contently, arms crossed but giving the kind of ear-to-ear grin you could feel across the room, satisfaction and disbelief merging together on his face. The campaign had just received word that rival Matt Czajkowski had made his concession speech at the Franklin Hotel.
The progressive bloc had won. They’d just escaped a new, moderate business-centered group gaining traction and council seats. Not so fast.
Word came back that one precint, Patterson, was yet to report. Kleinschmidt was up a scant 168 votes. The jubiliation turned to shocked concern. It was too close to call.
“I don’t want a Dewey defeats Truman headline,” Kleinschmidt warned reporters at his R&R Grill party. The pack of local politicos returned to the laptop, clicking refresh again and again.
Moments later, the candidate’s ever-buzzing cell phone went off once more. It was Mayor Kevin Foy calling to congratulate him.
Kleinschmidt cautioned him, but thanked him for his support. Then the results flashed on the TV screens. It was final — Kleinschmidt had won.
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Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Amanda Ashley, Augustus Cho, Brian Voyce, Bryant Warren, Christine Lee, Ed Harrison, Frances Dancy, Gene Pease, Greg McElveen, Jacquelyn Gist, Jim Merritt, Joe Green, Jon Dehart, Kevin Foy, Kevin Wolff, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, MaryAnne Gucciardi, Matt Czajkowski, Matt Pohlman, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Sharon Cook, Shell Brownstein, Susana Dancy, Tim Peck, Tom Stevens, Will Raymond
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 Anthony Integlia, Bill Bell, Charles Meeker, Chris Augustine, Cora Cole-McFadden, Deborah Prickett, elections, Gary Wallach, Jennifer Robinson, Jerry Ballan, Mark Chilton, Mark Enloe, MaryAnne Gucciardi, Matt Czajkowski, Matt Pohlman, Nancy MacFarlane, Rodger Koopman, Sylvester Williams
