Downtown Durham's Marriott Hotel buzzed with excitement Tuesday night as supporters of Bill Bell waited to congratulate the mayoral incumbent on his re-election.
Family and campaign members greeted Bell with hugs and applause as he entered the ballroom to begin celebrating his victory.
"We are very, very pleased with having the results in, with having won this election," Bell said. "It is important for us to be victorious in this election. It is important for Durham."
Bell captured 58.11 percent of the 35,687 votes cast Tuesday, winning the mayoral seat over opponent and former council member Thomas Stith.
In addition to re-electing the incumbent mayor, Durham voters also elected Farad Ali and incumbents Diane Catotti and Eugene Brown to the City Council.
Bell said he was pleased that the voters of Durham rejected his opponent's negative campaign tactics.
"Not in Durham... do we accept the type of campaigning that my opponent did," Bell said.
He said he was "very honored" to win the election, adding that he takes his elected roles very seriously.
Bell said he will continue to pursue the projects he advocated during his campaign: fighting crime, practicing fiscal responsibility, improving Durham's infrastructure and protecting the environment.
"[I will] work to continue the revitalization of downtown Durham," he said.
The effort will include working to meet the needs of Durham's young people, he said.
Bell also said Duke students can engage themselves easily in Durham by volunteering in local schools, employing their skills to relate well to young people.
"Duke is a valued part of the community, and I hope that Duke students will involve themselves," he said.
Duke Student Government tried to encourage Duke students to vote Tuesday by in increasing access to off-campus voting stations with DSG-sponsored shuttles that transported students to and from polls.
Fewer than 20 Duke students, however, utilized the shuttles that ran from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., said junior Sunny Kantha, DSG's vice president of athletics and campus services. Kantha said approximately 150 students utilized the service when it was offered during last year's district attorney election.
Political groups on campus also tried to increase student involvement in local politics.
"For people who don't get out onto the town, whose only impressions are Whole Foods or Cosmic [Cantina], they're probably not going to care about what's going on here," said junior Sam Tasher, President of Duke College Republicans.
Vikram Srinivasan, a sophomore who sits on the boards of both the Duke Conservative Union and College Republicans, said offering more volunteer opportunities could help students become more invested in Durham.
"If we want to help to form the conditions off campus, we need to participate in the political process," Srinivasan said.
Duke Democrats encouraged students on the West Campus Plaza to volunteer for Bell's campaign, said group President Samiron Ray, a sophomore. College Republicans, on the other hand, registered students to vote at the recent state fair in Raleigh.
Still, many Duke students choose not to vote because they are registered in their home towns and are more concerned with issues at home than in Durham, Tasher said.
"Even though they help out, a lot of people aren't registered so... [the] support does not translate into votes," he said.
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