Durham citizens head to the polls today to cut the list of candidates for three open at-large city council positions from 14 to six--those who make the cut after the municipal primary will then proceed to the general election Nov. 4.
Six candidates have emerged as clear front-runners after influential political committees announced their endorsements last week. In a surprising move, the Durham People's Alliance and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People slated the same candidates, giving a substantial boost to the campaign efforts of Warren Herndon, Diane Catotti and Diane Wright. Friends of Durham, a political committee that places more emphasis on growth, identified three favorites as well--Eugene Brown, Matt Yarbrough and incumbent Thomas Stith.
The consensus between the endorsements of the Durham Committee and the People's Alliance has narrowed the field for this year's primary significantly and raised a few eyebrows.
"I was a little surprised by the Durham Committee's interest in endorsing candidates that will be comfortable with raising taxes to the extent that their slate probably will," said Rick Adams, Friends of Durham chairperson.
Despite criticisms, the Durham Committee and the People's Alliance maintain that the matching slates were not the result of political bargaining.
"[The correspondence of slates] is not purely coincidence, but it's not a deal either," said Tom Miller, co-coordinator of the People's Alliance, stressing that endorsement is ultimately decided by organization members and is not a top-down process.
Nevertheless, the overlap has muted the competition in this year's race, even though the number of candidates running for the seats is larger than in years past.
Adams also predicted that the endorsed candidates will be the post-primary contenders.
The significance of tomorrow's poll, Miller said, is the effect the ordering of candidates will have on the pace of campaigning over the course of the next month. "Ultimately we're going to have to narrow it to three [candidates], and it will be really interesting to see who the top three will be," he said.
The top six contenders will have ample ground for disagreement. The three major political committees' agendas center on various approaches to growth and development which are consistently hot topics for debate in the Durham city council elections. Much of city council debate is spent on land use decisions.
Public frustration with city government may also be a driving force in this year's election. For instance, restructuring in the Department of Housing and Community Development--sprung from poor project oversight--has found one employee fired and three placed on probation.
"You are going to see a little higher turnout than what you might ordinarily find from an off-year election as a result of recent scandals in government improprieties that have surfaced since the last election," Adams said. "Voters are going to be looking for more responsible, accountable elected officials."
Issue-driven voting, however, may be limited to the degree to which issues influence endorsements, which is historically the driving force in Durham politics.
Little to no contest is expected for the mayoral race--Mayor William (Bill) Bell has all major endorsements in the bag. Opponents Carolina James-Rivera and Jonathan Alston are clearly the underdogs and Bell remains popular after two years of service.
Bell's leadership has gained him support from a wide spectrum of political voices in Durham, and it remains to be seen if that same support will be found in the new city council.
"A lot of what this is about is whether the council that will emerge from the November election will be a council that will see the city through Bill Bell's eyes," Miller said.
In spite of Bell's sure-bet primary bid, Director of the Board of Elections Michael Ashe remained optimistic that the 14 at-large city council candidates could generate substantial turnout.
In 2001, twelve percent of voters turned out for the municipal primary. Ashe said judging from the amount of phone calls and political buzz, he anticipates the turnout will be similar.
"I expect 100% of Durham voters to come out and cast an informed ballot--historically, however, this has not been the case," Ashe said. "[The voting process] is something we should all be proud of and respect.... Shame on you if you don't vote."
The polls will be open in 52 voting districts throughout Durham from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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