No other way to spin it. Two-thirds of the people in Char-Meck like the direction we are headed. One third of us are terrified as hell. Either some of us are in for a pleasant surprise — or a whole lot of folks are in for nasty shock.
Turnout was up about 20 percent over 2005. County-wide turnout was 24 percent of registered voters, up from a 20 percent turnout in 2005. Overall, there were 40,000 more voters eligible to vote yesterday than there were just two years ago.
Some 30,000 more voters actually went to the polls, proof that the Powers That Be got their people to come out and vote for the bonds and against the transit tax repeal. Rather than 2005, this election more resembled 2003 when three bond issues passed with 70 percent margins on 23 percent turnout.
As I expected, there was no change in the status quo with the CMS at-large slots. Coach or not, Joe White will be elected as long as he runs it seems. And he took heat for it, but putting “re-elect” on his literature and signs was a masterstroke for never-elected before Tuesday Trent Merchant.
The Charlotte city council also broke down exactly as I expected, with Ed Peacock edging Dan Ramirez for the final of the four at-large slots. Little surprised that George Young got bumped in Matthews by a few dozen votes, however.
Other observations:
— When does Susan Burgess run [again] for mayor of Charlotte? If ever? Her 55,000 citywide votes were in the ballpark of Pat McCrory’s 58,000 — and McCrory’s campaign was very active in order to help save the transit tax with TV ads.
— Even though Steve Iannarino lost by 500 votes in the mayor’s race, Huntersville is much closer to a 50-50 split on where the town is headed, particularly with regard to the transit plan. And that is with massive Chamber and developer effort on that front.
— Winning county-wide campaigns may now require a TV and radio element. Unless you are starting with high name ID, like a Kaye McGarry, you are just not going break through. And TV vs. no TV is no contest.
— Fear of WBT was greatly misplaced. The Uptown crowd was unduly mortified by the station’s non-stop, credible criticism of the status quo. But this reflected more their own Uptown bubble and thin-skin than the ability of any one news outlet to determine the outcome of an election in the crowded, jumbled Charlotte media market. And that includes the Uptown paper of record. It endorsed Julian Wright for school board, for example.
— Ah, the Observer. With the immediate mortal threat to the status quo removed, what now? In the short-term a little crowing, but after that I’m not sure. If there is any guilt over pre-election bias there might be a swing to moderate that with some actual questioning of status quo policy rather than cheerleading for it. It would certainly make for a more interesting paper. Or there might be an urge to drive even deeper toward the two-thirds majority in search of a stable readership. We’ll see.
I’m not going anywhere.
Bonus Observation: Union County smacked down its transfer tax idea, while Catawba County approved its quarter-cent sales tax hike. Upshot, look for Mecklenburg to go the quarter-cent route next year. The only question: Will it be for roads, sidewalks, and bikepaths or for schools?
