cvillenews.com

One Bob Fenwick appears to be preparing to run for City Council, Rachana Dixit writes in the Daily Progress today. It’s not clear (to me) whether he’s a Republican, independent, or unaffiliated Democrat, but he’s doing the sorts of things that one does before running for office. Just in the past month he’s made increasingly public statements on behalf of the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park, he’s promoted the eyeball-burning SaveMcIntire.com, and most recently has demanded that Mayor Dave Norris increase spending drastically, eliminating the city’s savings to hire “41 men and women” for capital improvements and maintenance work. When asked by Dixit if he intends to run for Council, he said that he’d make “a political announcement” soon and, cryptically, that “there is an action [he] will take first.” In an undated note on one of his websites he writes that “in a week or two I’ll announce what I, personally, will do.”

Running to the left of Charlottesville Democrats is certainly a bold political gambit.

Democrats have nominated Mayor Dave Norris and Kristin Szakos as their City Council candidates, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports, meaning that the third candidate, Julian Taliaferro, has failed in his bid for reelection. (Norris is seeking a second term, Szakos her first.) Right now there’s no word on the percentages, nor is there word on the outcome of the sheriff’s race.

1,644 Charlottesville Democrats participated in the convention, which has got to be a record—and by a longshot—as a result of the party’s move to a firehouse primary. The system long used by city Dems involved several rounds of balloting, the number of rounds increasing proportional to the number of candidates, which meant that voters participating in the process could have to spend hours casting a series of votes. A really good year might involve 500 votes, so 1,644 is really a huge turnout, comparatively speaking.

11:55 PM Update: James Brown has been nominated for Sheriff, Bianca Spinosa reports for CBS-19. Though the numbers aren’t final, Norris received approximately 80% of the vote, Szakos 61%, and Taliaferro 40%. Remember that voters are ranking the three candidates from their favorite to least-favorite, with the top two being their candidates of choice, so the total percentage is way over 100%. If I’m doing the math rights, this means that 80% of voters named Norris as their #1 or #2 choice, 61% named Szakos in those positions, and 40% named Taliaferro.

May 11 Update: The party has released the voting tallies. Dave Norris got 1,261 votes, Szakos 974, and Taliaferro 684. Weighted by precinct population, it came out to 80.49 “precinct votes” for Norris, 61.13 for Szakos, and 43.32 for Taliaferro. In the sheriff’s race, it was 661 (40.83) for Baird, 744 (47.78) for James Brown, and 177 (11.39) for Phillip Brown. You’ll note that total would have left Baird the winner, but James Brown won. That’s because this was instant runoff voting (IRV), with voters ranking their choice of candidates from most favorite to least favorite. Dropping Phillip Brown out of consideration, as the lowest vote-getter, and factoring in the second choices of his supporters, that left Baird with 701 votes and James Brown with 839. In a traditional election, Baird would have won with a plurality, but not a majority. Under IRV, the candidate that is preferred by the greatest number of people wins, which is how James Brown won. I’m a moron. The specific breakdowns are below the fold.

Continue reading ‘Norris, Szakos Win Democratic Nomination for Council’