Here are the results from the Orange County Board of Elections. The biggest surprise to me: the mayors races. Kevin Foy got less than I expected (78%), Mark Chilton got more than I expected (63%), and Tom Stevens won in Hillsborough!
Chapel Hill Mayor
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Kevin C. Foy
4279
77.76%
Kevin A. Wolff
1173
21.32%
Write-In
51
0.93%
Chapel Hill Town Council (4 seats available)
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Laurin Easthom
3774
19.89%
Mark Kleinschmidt
3757
19.80%
Ed Harrison
3098
16.33%
Bill Thorpe
3030
15.97%
Will Raymond
2332
12.29%
Robin Cutson
1618
8.53%
Jason Baker
1237
6.52%
Write-In
124
0.65%
Carrboro Mayor
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Mark H. Chilton
1331
62.84%
Alex Zaffron
770
36.36%
Write-In
17
0.80%
Carrboro Alderman (3 seats available)
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Jacquelyn M. Gist
1537
26.41%
Randee Haven-O'Donnell
1273
21.87%
John Herrera
1241
21.32%
Katrina Ryan
731
12.56%
Catherine DeVine
600
10.31%
David Marshall
423
7.27%
Write-In
15
0.26%
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education (3 seats available)
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Lisa Stuckey
5931
29.05%
Jean Hamilton
5707
27.95%
Pam Hemminger
5420
26.55%
Jeff Danner
3268
16.01%
Write-In
92
0.45%
Hillsborough Mayor
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Tom Stevens
583
51.32%
Joe Phelps
544
47.89%
Write-In
9
0.79%
Hillsborough Town Commissioner (2 seats available)
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Mike Gering
686
35.64%
Frances Dancy
650
33.77%
Paul Newton
567
29.45%
Write-In
22
1.14%
Special Referendum - Orange County School District
Position
Votes
Percent
Against
3784
78.41%
For
1042
21.59%
Issues:
Comments
Mark K., I think that I see
Mark K., I think that I see the difference. Matt Dees' piece seeks to understand how a new resident could get 21% of the vote and why, and a popular two-term mayor lost that 21%. The editorial writer is saying that a 80% no vote is amazing because those who bothered to vote soke with such a strong voice. Strong agreement on a tax question is not the same as why an unknown who barely participated in the campaign got 21%.
And I don't fully agree with Matt Jensen's quote in the CHN, "You could just about put a kitty cat on the ballot against someone who's been on the council for eight years and it could get 20 percent." That's a little high to me.
I do think some of the Wolff votes were anti-Foy votes, and from more people than stated as much here. But don't discount all of Kevin Wolff's support as not really being aboout him.
My point was that I think
My point was that I think there would be about a 20% anti-incumbent vote no matter who you put on the ballot. Kevin has been Mayor for four years and on Council for four more years before that. If you've been in a leadership position for that long in a community that is as active and informed as Chapel Hill, you're inevitably going to do things that bother some voters and cause them to vote against you. To have bothered so few people to still pull 78% of the vote in this town is remarkable I think, the opponent being Kevin Wolff, a kitty cat, or just about anything but Bush :)
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