Election Day Blog: Re-live the City Council races

By Alicia Petska

Published: May 6, 2008

Updated 9:06 p.m.

All precincts have reported in the Lynchburg City Council election. The preliminary results give victory to the incumbents in Ward I (Mike Gillette), Ward II (Ceasor Johnson) and Ward III (Jeff Helgeson). In Ward IV, which has no incumbent, Turner Perrow beat out Marie Waller by 32 votes.

Preliminary Results By Candidate

Ward I
Mike Gillette 1,391 (47.42%)
Jim Martin 1,210 (41.25%)
Tom Shahady 331 (11.28%)
Write-In 1 (0.03%)

Ward II
Ceasor Johnson 556 (84.37%)
David Johnston 92 (13.96%)
Write-In 11 (1.66%)

Ward III
Jeff Helgeson 876 (65.22%)
Nat Marshall 466 (34.69%)
Write-In 1 (0.07%)

Ward IV
Turner Perrow 1,028 (50.74%)
Marie Waller 996 (49.16%)
Write-In 2 (0.09%)

Preliminary Results By Precinct

Ward 1/Precinct 1: Moose Lodge #715
Mike Gillette 169
Jim Martin 176
Tom Shahady 45

Ward I/Precinct 2: Bedford Hills School
Mike Gillette 474
Jim Martin 357
Tom Shahady 86

Ward I/Precinct 3: First Presbyterian Church
Mike Gillette 355
Jim Martin 399
Tom Shahady 107

Ward I/Precinct 4: Rivermont Presbyterian Church
Mike Gillette 124
Jim Martin 89
Tom Shahady 22

Ward I/Precinct 5: First Christian Church
Mike Gillette 249
Jim Martin 160
Tom Shahady 63
Write-In 1

Ward I: Absentee Ballots
Mike Gillette 20
Jim Martin 29
Tom Shahady 8

Ward II/Precinct 1: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Ceasor Johnson 264
David Johnston 50
Write-In 5

Ward II/Precinct 2: Robert S. Payne School
Ceasor Johnson 196
David Johnston 20
Write-In 5

Ward II/Precinct 3: Jubilee Heights Center
Ceasor Johnson 78
David Johnston 19
Write-In 1

Ward II: Absentee Ballots
Ceasor Johnson 18
David Johnston 3

Ward III/Precinct 1: Lynchburg Public Library
Jeff Helgeson 172
Nat Marshall 111
Write-In 1

Ward III/Precinct 2: Fairview Christian Church
Jeff Helgeson 66
Nat Marshall 44

Ward III/Precinct 3: Sheffield Elementary School
Jeff Helgeson 184
Nat Marshall 116

Ward III/Precinct 4: Heritage Elementary School
Jeff Helgeson 141
Nat Marshall 88

Ward III/Precinct 5: Heritage United Methodist
Jeff Helgeson 300
Nat Marshall 95

Ward III: Absentee Ballots
Jeff Helgeson 13
Nat Marshall 12

Ward IV/Precinct 1: The Elks Lodge
Turner Perrow 206
Marie Waller 222

Ward IV/Precinct 2: Sandusky Middle School
Turner Perrow 194
Marie Waller 156

Ward IV/Precinct 3: Memorial Christian Church
Turner Perrow 216
Marie Waller 264
Write-In 2

Ward IV/Precinct 4: Linkhorne Middle School
Turner Perrow 395
Marie Waller 327

Ward IV: Absentee Ballots
Turner Perrow 17
Marie Waller 27

Updated 7:13 p.m.

Polls are now closed in the Lynchburg City Council race.

Results will be posted here as they become available. Information is also available on the state Board of Elections site (link provided to the left).

Updated 6:54 p.m.

A mid-afternoon survey of all Lynchburg precincts revealed general voter turnout to be just over 12 percent in the City Council race.

Registrar Pat Bower, whose most recent data was compiled around 3:30 p.m., said she was disappointed in the figures.

“I don’t think we’re going to reach 20 percent at this point, unless there’s a major surge in the after-work hours,” she said. 

Bower had hoped to see around 20 percent participation in Wards III and IV today, with better performance in Ward I and significantly less expected in Ward II, which has historically low turnout.

Overall, the registrar felt the day went smoothly. A mishap with an electronic voting machine in the Bedford Hills School precinct turned out to be human error. Bower said the machine, which froze up during the morning, wasn’t plugged in properly.

The registrar did correctly predict which would be the most active district, Ward I, and which would see the fewest voters, Ward II.

Below are the precinct-by-precinct results of her office’s last survey.

Ward I
Moose Lodge #715 = 6.5%
Bedford Hills School = 20%
First Presbyterian Church = 25%
Rivermont Presbyterian Church = 12%

Ward II
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church = 6%
Robert S. Payne School = 5%
Jubilee Heights Center = 6%

Ward III
Lynchburg Public Library = 9%
Fairview Christian Church = 8%
Sheffield Elementary School =15%
Heritage Elementary School = 8%
Heritage United Methodist = 15%

Ward IV
The Elks Lodge = 9%
Sandusky Middle School = 16%
Memorial Christian Church = N/A
Linkhorne Middle School =16%

Updated 6:04 p.m.

Supporters of Ward I challenger Jim Martin have a clear buzzword: “business-minded,” as in City Council could benefit from being more like this.

“He knows what a budget is,” Richard Kingsley, 72, said of the first-time candidate. “(His positions) coincide with some-one who’s got their head screwed on and knows what it means to be responsible for other people.”

Martin, a retired car dealer, is looking to replace incumbent Mike Gillette in today’s three-way race for the Ward I council seat.

Gillette, an ethicist finishing up his first term in office, was praised by his own supporters for his contemplative approach to city decisions.

“He thinks before he does,” voter Leah Gardner said. “He doesn’t go off half-cocked, as the saying goes. He stops and thinks, and I think that’s very important.”

Diana Williams, who cast her ballot this afternoon at the Moose Lodge on Lakeside Drive, said she was all for the race’s second challenger, Tom Shahady, because of his vision for the city.

“We need some change,” she said of the strongly pro-environmental candidate. “Not just the same good ole boys getting in.”

Voter turnout has been generally low throughout Lynchburg today, but Ward I has enjoyed some of the city’s busiest precincts. The district’s field is slightly more crowded than the other three wards voting today, each of which have two-way contests.

Outside the Moose Lodge, which serves as the first precinct in Ward I, faithful voter Lindsey Foreman doesn’t mince words when explaining her priority at the polls this year: “Getting Mike Gillette off of City Council.”

“Throw the bum out!” chimed in her mother, who declined to give her name.

The Foreman family was actively involved in the Fine Arts Center before its merger with the Academy of Music. Gillette, the center’s president at the time, pushed the union. The Foremans avidly opposed it.

“I haven’t liked his decisions (on council) either,” Lindsey Foreman, 22, added.

The mother and daughter both cast their ballot instead for Martin, who they lauded for his business success and active involvement in the community.

Updated 5:20 p.m.

City Council member Scott Garrett stood in front of Linkhorne Middle School on Tuesday afternoon and looked over at City Council hopeful Turner Perrow approvingly.

“He’s a natural,” Garrett said. “It’s not an ego thing with him - that’s the way he really is. If it were an ego thing, I wouldn’t be standing out here with him.”

In style - if not necessarily political philosophy - Perrow is eerily reminiscent of the young Steve Newman, who parlayed boyish charm and dogged door-to-door campaigning into an upset victory over Donald Nitti in his first City Council election in 1988.

“It’s been a lot of work,” Perrow said, “but I had permission to take off from my regular job and campaign. That’s because I work for myself.”

Marie Waller, his Ward IV opponent, prepared well for her first run at council.

“I’ve been an observer at council meetings for years,” she said, “and I take a lot of notes. I’ve even read the city’s comprehensive plan. Twice.”

While she was greeting voters at Sandusky Middle School on Tuesday afternoon, an older man sidled over to her with a sheepish grin on his face.

“I don’t know if I voted for you or not,” he said. “They made me use the computer.”

Contributed by Darrell Laurant.

Updated 2:52 p.m.

One of the 17 electronic voting machines set up in Lynchburg today has been rendered unusable due to an unknown malfunction, election officials say.

The machine in the Bedford Hills School precinct, a Ward I polling place, has been down since this morning, according to registrar Pat Bower.

The screen froze and poll workers were unable to pinpoint the problem. A technician is currently on site.

“We’re waiting to hear from him. We may have to call the (manufacturing) company,” Bower said at 2:30 p.m. “Of course, we still have (paper) ballots. Plenty of those are available, so it’s not interfering with the flow of voters.”

Lynchburg officials unveiled electronic voting machines last year to comply with a federal voting law requiring improved handicap-accessibility at the polls. One machine is made available in every city precinct on Election Day, in addition to the traditional paper ballots.

Bedford Hills is the only precinct to experience a significant problem today, Bower said.

The city does have a handful of back-up machines. One may be put to use if the trouble at Bedford Hills is not resolved soon, she said.

Updated 1:45 p.m.

Voter turnout is low throughout the city, election officials say.

Things are moving “pretty slowly,” according to Lynchburg registrar Pat Bower.

The most active precinct so far is First Presbyterian Church in Ward I, which was reporting 16 percent participation with half of the voting day gone.

In Ward II, which was expected to get the lowest traffic of the day, only 3 percent turnout has been achieved.

Bower, speaking a few minutes after 12:30 p.m., said just a handful of precincts have broken the double-digit barrier. She was doubtful any polling location would draw the 30 percent participation she had hoped for in some of the more active areas of the city.

“First Presbyterian could make it to 25, but I doubt they’ll get 30 now,” she said.

Polls opened today at 6 a.m. They close at 7 p.m.

Updated 1:22 p.m.

Duncan and Barbara Saunders, a husband-and-wife team, have been overseeing operations in Ward IV’s second precinct for going on six years now.

Barbara Saunders is the precinct chief. Duncan Saunders is assistant chief.

“It’s the same at home,” Duncan, 70, joked early this afternoon. “I’m the assistant at home, too, with a honey-do list.”

It takes more than 100 poll workers to man the voting booths in each of Lynchburg’s 17 precincts on Election Day.

Lynchburg City Council candidates

Ward I
Mike Gillette (incumbent)
Jim Martin
Tom Shahady

Ward II
Ceasor Johnson (incumbent)
David Johnston

Ward III
Jeff Helgeson (incumbent)
Nat Marshall

Ward IV
Turner Perrow
Marie Waller

Click here for candidate profiles, Q&As and previous election stories

Workers, who are paid a small sum for their service, describe different paths that led them to the job but tend to share one common drive: a desire to give back to their community.

“This is my way of being more involved,” Meggan Knodel, 27, said.

Knodel, a social worker, is among the youngest to join up for the electoral task. She said she comes from a family of active Democrats but personally chose to go with this nonpartisan form of participation in deference to her government employment.

Today is her first day working a precinct. She’s assigned to a post in Ward I.

“I think it’s exciting,” she said early this morning. “Not enough people take voting seriously and realize it’s a privilege. Not enough people take the time to vote.”

Across town in another ward, 78-year-old Richard Hayes has command of the red-white-and-blue stickers that confirm a voter has performed their civic duty.

Hayes, a local pastor, said he started working Election Day to give “whatever little talent I have” to help the city. He particularly likes his current post at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ward II.

“I love being with the people,” he said with a smile. “I’m more like a greeter. Everybody in Lynchburg just about knows me.”

Barbara Saunders, chief of the Sandusky Middle School precinct, was the first in her marriage to start working as an election monitor. She’s an old hand at it now, with more than 30 years experience under her belt.

“You want to be a part of the government and the process,” she said of her original motivation. “And you learn a lot and get to see your friends.”

She paused, then started laughing.

“Plus, I was young and foolish,” she said.

Updated 11:22 a.m.

Volunteers for both sides of the Ward III contest braved the early morning chill to show some last-minute support for their candidate.

Travis Griffin, 31, was keeping watch outside the Lynchburg Public Library at 8 a.m. to ask voters to choose incumbent Jeff Helgeson.

Also there was Sasha Thornhill, 18, who was electioneering for her first time ever to support challenger Nat Marshall.

“I think he’s the best person for City Council,” said Thornhill, a college freshman who’s grown up attending the same church as Marshall. “He’s bold. I like that he’s trying to fix downtown, or at least work on it, and the historic districts.”

“He’s probably the nicest man I know,” she added. “He always does the right thing and gives me good advice.”

Griffin, a self-described “political junkie” who volunteered on Helgeson’s first campaign, said he liked the councilman’s business background and willingness to express an opposing view.

“I think there’s a time and place for cooperation, but occasionally you need opposition,” he said. “Jeff has often given voice to a viewpoint that might not otherwise be heard (on council). But he does it in a respectful and dignified way.”

Griffin added he’s known both election hopefuls for years and feels the ward has an “embarrassment of riches” this year.

“I think Jeff’s got an edge here, but hopefully Nat will have another chance to serve,” he said.

Updated 10:50 a.m.

A total of 74 voters filed through St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in the first four hours of voting this morning.

Ann Bailey, chief of the first precinct in Ward II, said this was a low turnout even among local elections.

“So many people have said one name they recognize and the other they don’t,” Bailey, 67, said. “I guess there’s not been as much campaigning as in the past.”

Ward II voters are choosing between incumbent Ceasor Johnson and challenger David Johnston. Campaign volunteers electioneering outside St. Paul’s say turnout has been low throughout the ward so far.

Updated 8:28 a.m.

The Lynchburg Public Library, which is in the first precinct of Ward III, had 42 voters by 8:10 a.m.

Estelle McCain, 59, the precinct chief, said that was slow compared to the February primary.

“I told them, let’s just wait until the afternoon - that’s when it gets busier, when people get off work,” McCain said.

Updated 8:06 a.m.

Shortly after 5 a.m., in a bright church hall whose lights slice through the otherwise darkened morning, five women stand clustered together with their right hands raised.

Surrounding them is all the paraphernalia that comes with an election day — voting booths, registration books and over-sized sample ballots.

A flurry of activity will be needed to get each of these in their proper place, but for the moment the room is still.

In a low but clear voice, volunteer Jane Hawkins, 72, says, “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will perform the duties of this election according to the law and the best of my ability, and that I will studiously endeavor to prevent fraud, deceit and abuse in conducting this election.”

In unison, the remaining four say, “I do.”

Today is Election Day, and this small group of women stand charged with manning the fourth precinct of Ward I over at the Rivermont Presbyterian Church.

Each election demands long hours from the city’s many precinct workers, who are required to start at 5 a.m. and not allowed to leave their post until the final ballot is accounted for and the voting equipment packed away — a task that keeps them there until 8 p.m. or later.

“It’s a long day,” worker Mary Ingram, 62, said simply.

Turnout for today’s vote, which will decide the fate of four City Council seats, is not expected to create a traffic jam at the polls.

The crew here has come equipped with magazines, news-papers and games to while away the slow periods.

At this moment, though, the set-up has to be attended to and is not without some excitement.

Precinct chief Alfreda Bostic, 54, springs from one side of the room to the other as she fires up the equipment, a series of keys and badges jangling all the while from leashes draped around her neck and attached to both wrists.

“It’s 10 minutes till,” she called out as the clock approached 6 a.m., the time the polls open. “Should we synchronize our watches, guys?”

Problems with the large, squat ballot reader used to tally paper votes has Bostic exchanging phone calls with the central voting office up until opening time.

A new memory card for the machine is needed, officials deduce, but it can’t be delivered immediately. Voters should be encouraged to use the electronic voting machine until then, or paper ballots could be stored in the reader for the time being and fed in by the volunteers later when the machine is functional.

“I think we did good,” Bostic said later. “I think we did real good, because that machine wasn’t our fault.”

“I’ll pat you on the back, Freda,” Hawkins, the second in charge, said.

With the clock now at 6 a.m., the hustle of preparation grinds to a halt. A worker heads out to the door and gives the required notice: “Hear ye, hear ye, the polls are now open!”

Her pronouncement falls on a silent parking lot that lies completely vacant save for a few startled electioneers.

One of the campaign workers offers a weak exclamation in response.

“Yeah!”

Check back with NewsAdvance.com for more updates and election results, and see tomorrow’s The News & Advance for full coverage.