Lexington City Council race
 |
 |
 |
| Marilyn Alexander Click here for Alexander bio |
David Cox Click here for Cox bio |
Bob Lera Click here for Lera bio |
 |
 |
|
| Jack Page Click here for Page bio |
Ron Smith Click here for Smith bio |
Five candidates are vying for three seats on Lexington's at-large nonpartisan city council. The candidates include two incumbents -- Jack Page and Ron Smith. A fourth position on the seven-seat council could open up if current council member Mimi Elrod is elected mayor.
Please check back later tonight for official election results.
____________________
Five vying for three open seats
on Lexington City Council
The five candidates running for three open seats in the Lexington City Council were patiently awaiting the close of the polls at 7 tonight.
“I’m pretty calm,” said candidate Bob Lera.
“I have learned so many wonderful things and I’ve been in so many interesting parts of the city … that’s been a real high,” he said of campaigning.
City Council hopefuls Lera, Marilyn Alexander and David Cox look to win a first term on the council. Lera is retired and has served on the Lexington Planning Commission. Cox is also retired and has made two unsuccessful bids for the Virginia General Assembly. Alexander is a longtime Lexington resident and member of the Lexington School Board.
“I’m so excited,” said Alexander. “I think that everyone on the local level in the election would have something to offer the city of Lexington. I don’t think that [anyone will] do badly by our citizens.”
The other two candidates, incumbents Jack Page and Ron Smith, were hoping to retain their seats.
Page is a professor of civil engineering at Virginia Military Institute and seeks his second term on the Council. Smith is director of facilities services at Kendal at Lexington and is also looking for a second term.
Council member and Vice Mayor Tim Golden did not run for reelection to the third and final open seat. The other council members, Jim Gianniny, Frank Friedman and Mimi Elrod, will not be up for reelection until their terms expire in 2010.
But when the votes are counted tonight Elrod’s council seat could become available. Elrod is running for mayor. If she is successful in her bid, her council seat will open up. Elrod would then vacate her council seat at the start of the next term in January. The Council would look to appoint a Lexington resident to the open position. That resident could very well be one of the losers from tonight’s City Council results.
In this year’s election, many of the local candidates have relied on word-of-mouth methods to drive their campaigns. Voters have taken their own initiative to learn about each candidate.
But now the candidates must play the waiting game until the votes are tallied this evening. With a population of only 6,900, Lexington residents can expect City Council results to come in quickly.
Mayoral and City Council elections are held in every even numbered year. Elected Council members will take office Jan. 1 and have a four-year term.
The City Council election is nonpartisan and at-large, which means voters will not see any party affiliations on the ballots today. Voters can select up to three candidates on the ballot, but the voting machine prevents voters from selecting more. Selecting only one name will provide that candidate with a greater chance of winning a seat on the council.
In the past, elections have lacked the element of excitement present in this year’s race.
Candidates Elrod, Gianniny and Friedman handily beat out two competitors in the 2006 elections, according to records from the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Elections.
More than four thousand votes were cast for the council elections in 2006, with Elrod receiving 29 percent, Gianniny 25 percent and Friedman 21 percent of the votes. The two other competitors together received only 23 percent of the vote.
For the 2004 Lexington City Council race, election results were even more anticlimactic. Candidates Golden, Page and Smith ran uncontested.
“I’m very excited that we have a race [this year],” said Page. “[But] I think the incumbent[s] have somewhat of an advantage because they’ve gone through the budgetary process three additional times.”
But no matter the results, candidates said the race for City Council has been an invaluable experience.
“It’s a very worthwhile process,” said Cox. “In running for office before … I didn’t win, but in the end I did in terms of the relationships and the knowledge I gained.”
Smith canceled one interview and did not return several phone calls from The Rockbridge Report.
Meanwhile, in the Glasgow Town Council elections, Tracy Shafer and Roger Funkhouser are challenging incumbents Mike Turner and Roberta Lyle in the race for three open seats.
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Pamela Luecke
Reporting Supervisors:
Prof. Doug Cumming
Prof. Indira Somani
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd