In the end 7.8% of Roanoke city residents who were willing to go to the polls indicated that the city is not necessarily “Detroit” and that they believe that despite some bumps in the road Roanoke is generally headed in the right direction. All three incumbents – Dave Trinkle, Ray Ferris and Bill Bestpitch –were reelected to City Council on Tuesday night.
Republican Roger Malouf and running mates Jim Garrett and Hank Benson ran a spirited campaign that sometimes riled the incumbents but, as is normally the case, their party could not overcome the Democrat based incumbency. As the top vote-getter Trinkle will become the vice-mayor for a third time in July.
Bestpitch, who received 2880 votes in the lowest election turnout ever percentage wise, said the final vote tally confirmed that citizens do feel that the city is on the right track: ‘We’ve been doing a lot of good things [but] we still have more work to do. They recognize that and they want us to keep at it.”
Some of the charges thrown about during the campaign, most often by the GOP ticket of Malouf, Jim Garrett and Hank Benson, bothered Bestpitch, “I’ve always believed that Roanoke voters don’t respond well to negative attacks, nor to simple, pie in the sky empty promises that nobody can keep. I think they saw through that. They looked at the performance of City Council over the past four years – really going back a lot farther than that – and they’re pretty happy with that.”
Bestpitch and Ferris both ran as independents after first being elected four years ago as Democrats (at the time Bestpitch was returning to City Council after a hiatus) but he doesn’t see any major rift within the Democrat party. Trinkle did run again as a Democrat with two other unsuccessful candidates (Linda Wyatt and Freeda Cathcart).
“It’s been a spirited campaign,” said Roanoke Mayor David Bowers as he helped celebrate Trinkle’s win on election night. “We’re on the right track in Roanoke.” Trinkle who received 4107 votes brought Cathcart and Wyatt up front to celebrate with him. “This was an interesting campaign with ten people running,” said Trinkle, “but I’m never afraid of a lot of people running. At the end of the day I actually enjoy that.”
Trinkle said he was “very proud” to be on the Democratic ticket with Cathcart and Wyatt. Cathcart said she would continue to work on her “Let Teachers Teach” movement, which targets Standards of Learning reforms that would give educators more freedom in the classroom. “This is an important issue.” Cathcart said voters confirmed that as she knocked on doors. “Teachers are frustrated and something has to change.”
Ferris was perhaps the most combative candidate during several forums, bristling at times over charges that the city’s crime rate was high or that its financial condition was heading towards a Detroit-like meltdown. “It’s a mandate from the voters that they believe Roanoke is heading in the right direction,” said Ferris as he greeted well-wishers at Billy’s Ritz on election night. “They want to see us continue to work.” Ferris received 3195 votes.
Economic development and “investments in our assets” are what voters said they want to see continue, according to Ferris, who now embarks on a second term. He said Roanokers deserve “a first class city and we’re working hard to give it to them.”
Ferris said that early in the campaign the incumbents decided to take “head on” the charges being leveled at them by other candidates. “Throughout the campaign we tried to deliver a positive message. Yeah, it bothered me, because that’s not Roanoke. I’ve been to Detroit – Roanoke is not Detroit.”
Ferris felt it was “unfortunate” that the GOP ticket chose their mode of attack to address issues during the race. “You can make the same argument without denigrating our fine city. I think voters reacted the way I hoped they would react when they said no to that.” Growing jobs and addressing the city’s poverty rate are on his agenda despite the “flat economy.”
Trinkle, who threw his hat in the ring for an open Delegate position last winter before losing to Sam Rasoul, said he would “dedicate himself for another four years” to his City Council post. He also said the Democrat Party would be “just fine,” despite the decision by Ferris and Bestpitch to avoid a primary and run as independents.
By Gene Marrano
