June 16, 2007
... on the election blog for the evening.
But we'll leave with a few last notes:
From The News' Jennifer Lafleur: In the Dallas mayoral race, the total votes cast increased 20 percent from last month. In May, there were 71,467 votes cast, with the runoff tally coming in at 85,590 (unofficially, of course.)
And history was made in Garland: Retired assistant city manager Ronald Jones will become the city’s first black mayor. Mr. Jones defeated credit union executive Lee Alewine for the top job.
Thanks for reading! Check back on the dallasnews.com homepage for additional election stories to be posted.
Posted by Chris Buckle 
at 10:22 PM (E-mail this entry)
Dallas mayoral candidate Don Hill finished third in the general election last month. His endorsement was sought by both candidates for the runoff, and it went to Mr. Leppert.
But The News' Jennifer Lafleur has already crunched some data showing that it essentially had no effect. She reports:
Among the precincts won by Mr. Hill last month, Mr. Oakley won 72 of them tonight, to Mr. Leppert's 5.
Columnist Gromer Jeffers Jr. wrote about whether candidate endorsements matter:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/gjeffers/stories/DN-jeffers_23met.ART.State.Edition1.436633e.html
Ms. Lafleur also notes the following:
Of the precincts won by Mr. Oakley last month, Mr. Leppert leads in 20; and of the precincts won by Mr. Leppert in May, Mr. Oakley leads in 11 tonight.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 9:55 PM (E-mail this entry)
... Campaign says he spoke a few minutes ago with Mr. Leppert; Mr. Oakley is just approaching the microphone at his results-watch party to speak to his supporters.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 9:40 PM (E-mail this entry)
The reality of the situation seems to be settling in at the Oakley headquarters.
Asked by reporter Tawnell Hobbs if he were still optimistic, Ed Oakley replied, “A little bit. But the gap is not closing.”
However, he said that many of the southern Dallas precincts had not yet reported in.
“I feel pretty good about what we’ve done,” Mr. Oakley said. “We had about 250 people out working today in the grassroots campaign. We’ll see.”
Posted by Chris Buckle at 9:16 PM (E-mail this entry)
Final results:
In Frisco, City Council Place 2 goes to Jeff Cheney, who garnered 57 percent of the vote. Place 5 goes to David Prince, whose 67 percent to 33 percent early voting margin held up after final tallying.
Oh, and that close Place 2 Council race in Prosper? Stayed that way ... 12 votes would appear to have been the difference between Kenneth Dugger, who won, and Joe Anselmo.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 8:53 PM (E-mail this entry)
... for getting final results from all runoffs posted by 8:28 p.m.
The last race posted: Mansfield ISD trustee, Place 3 ... and it was a close one: Michael Evans edges James Rudnicki by 16 votes, it would appear, with nearly 2,800 votes cast.
Recount, perhaps?
Posted by Chris Buckle at 8:36 PM (E-mail this entry)
... and Mr. Leppert's lead holds, 60 percent to 40 percent. With just under 33 percent of the precincts reporting, it's not exactly too close call ...
... Like it was on Tuesday?
"Ouchy," as my daughter used to say when she was younger:
Posted by Chris Buckle at 8:29 PM (E-mail this entry)
Reporter Michael Lindenberger says Tom Leppert was all smiles at his party at Gilley’s on South Lamar, where about 150 supporters, mostly dressed in business casual, were taking in the early good news.
Mr. Leppert said, “With numbers like that, 60 to 40, I got to tell you, we ought to feel awfully good.”
He says the early results show his message and his positive approach clicked with voters.
“Everywhere we went today, and I visited about 11 different places, I saw two things — enthusiasm and a lot of support for us.”
Mr. Leppert said he cautioned supporters not to celebrate yet. “But come talk to me in a hour and a half,” he added.
The Leppert party is awaiting totals in the cavernous confines of Gilley’s, wedged between a group of folks waiting to enter to hear a concert by a group named Candlebox and about 12 couples in the back who are learning to ballroom dance.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 8:20 PM (E-mail this entry)
Reporter Tawnell Hobbs says the atmosphere was somber at Mr. Oakley's vote-watching party at Margaux’s restaurant in Dallas’ design district.
And while the mood among many remained hopeful, the early voting results were surprising, even to Mr. Oakley’s political aides.
“6,000 votes is a lot of votes to make up,” said Oakley media adviser David Marquis. “Nobody predicted we’d be down by 20 percent, 6,000 votes.”
Supporter John McEwen, who lives in the White Rock Lake area, agreed.
“The early voting results were kind of a shock, but again, they’re early,” he said.
As for the candidate himself, Mr. Oakley said he was concerned that the weather might have affected turnout. As he spoke, supporters continued to approach him to reassure him that it is still early.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 8:18 PM (E-mail this entry)
Tarrant County sees Dallas' early voting and raises final results in some suburban races:
The Grapevine City Council Place 3 winner is Mike Lease.
Euless City Council Place 1 goes to Tim Stinneford; Place 6, Perry Bynum.
The Forest Hill mayoral winner is James Gosey; City Council Place 4 winner, Dulani Masimini; and Place 5 winner, Andrew Sanders.
The White Settlement City Council Place 2 winner is Freta Powell.
And the Westlake alderman runoff goes to Larry Corson.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 8:04 PM (E-mail this entry)
From Politics Writer Gromer Jeffers Jr.:
Ed Oakley's election night party advertised a possible appearance by Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has been raising money in Dallas and Fort Worth for her presidential campaign.
It's safe to say that the senator has gotten a look at the numbers and won't be dropping in on Mr. Oakley.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:59 PM (E-mail this entry)
The DMN's Jennifer Lafleur, with a little early voting statistical work, shows that if it were a race for who carries the most council districts, Mr. Oakley's camp might be happy right about now ... but it's all about the sheer numbers in the higher-numbered districts.
Take a look:
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:34 PM (E-mail this entry)
Collin County early voting results:
Frisco, Council Place 2 -- Jeff Cheney at 55 percent over Fred Pascarelli's 45 percent. In Place 5, David Prince leads Chris Moss 67 percent to 33 percent.
But Prosper has a nice, tight Council Place 2 battle going on, with only a handful of early votes separate Kenneth Dugger from Joe Anselmo.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:29 PM (E-mail this entry)
From Staff Writer Dave Levinthal:
Just about everyone thought Donald Parish would clean house in District 7, dispatching Carolyn Davis with ease. Notsomuch: Ms. Davis leads the well-respected pastor by nearly 20 percentage points through early voting. That’s a pretty significant gap for the Rev. Parish to make up.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:24 PM (E-mail this entry)
So says News Politics Writer Gromer Jeffers Jr. immediately after seeing the Dallas mayoral early voting results.
"Historically, this is over. You don't make up a 20 percent gap ... it's never happened ... not with this turnout level."
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:22 PM (E-mail this entry)
Early voting results show Mr. Leppert leading largely: 60 percent to 40 percent over Mr. Oakley.
But it's early ... check it here:
http://enr2.clarityelections.com/Default.aspx?c=dallas&eid=143
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:07 PM (E-mail this entry)
Metro editor Steve Harris and his Food Writing wife, Joyce, hit Cafe Lago near White Rock Lake ahead of voting. Steve sent in this observation (but sadly neglected to tell us what he ate or whether the place was worth visiting):
On the restaurant's calendar of events -- for Saturday, June 16 -- read, "Ed Oakley for Mayor. Runoffs today." The cafe is next door to a Tom Leppert campaign office -- which was offering a "free breakfast." Wonder how "free" it was?
The dining duo did manage to vote, Nos. 123 and 124 by 1:15 p.m. at Precinct 2240.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 7:03 PM (E-mail this entry)
Mariana Greene, editor of The News' House and Garden section, offers up our first signal of any voting troubles:
At my voting precinct in Old East Dallas, Fire Station 17 on Belmont at Skillman, the machine that takes the paper ballot was blinky. The sensor was not accepting the ballots on the first try, for everyone while I was there. The alternate election judge had to instruct every voter to submit the ballot a different way every time -- turn it over, turn it upside down ... She said she thought the scanner was out. However, once I turned my ballot a different way, the machine took it and the number of voters increased by one. She said at 7 p.m. either all the votes would be recorded or the read-out wuold be blank, in which case they would alert the authorities. She said rainy weather often made the machine act "funny."
Posted by Chris Buckle at 6:47 PM (E-mail this entry)
Welcome to the municipal elections blog, redux.
Left you last month after the general election with an 11-person Dallas mayoral race dwindled to two, four Dallas City Council races that were undecided by night's end, and a host of suburban races, including Garland mayor, with an extra month of campaigning set to begin.
So, what do we know today? It rained, and well, that's either a good thing or bad thing for voter turnout, which will either help or hurt Dallas mayoral candidates Tom Leppert and Ed Oakley. Smart, we are.
What we do really know, though, is that Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet believed early in the day that the rain really wasn't keeping city voters away (relatively speaking, of course - an unexpectedly high turnout might number 15 percent or more, remember.) But if that high turnout occurred in the city's southern sector and northern voters stayed home, that could bode well for Mr. Oakley.
We'll see ... should have early voting results up shortly after 7 p.m. That'll be the night's first true indicator of what we might be seeing in Dallas.
Stay tuned.
Posted by Chris Buckle at 6:08 PM (E-mail this entry)
