Voters in North Carolina make our voices heard!
I’m sitting at my desk very tired and very happy. Last Tuesday North Carolina helped shift the political paradigm of this nation. By a large majority, the voters of our state rejected the ego-driven politics of pandering, fear-mongering, guilt by association and personal attack, embracing instead a pioneering political ethos of candor, authenticity, openness and organizing at the grassroots level. Not only did our votes in the North Carolina Democratic presidential primary really count; through our efforts Barack Obama is now the presumptive nominee.
More than 2,000,000 total votes were cast in
both the Democratic and Republican primaries in North Carolina, a turnout of registered voters of approximately 36%. Of those voting for the Democratic presidential nominees, Barack Obama received 875,683 (55.99%) and Hillary Clinton received 652,824 (41.74%), a resounding victory for Obama and a deciding factor in this race.
In Buncombe County Obama received 27,899 (54.67%) and Clinton received 22,290 or (43.68%). And this with the Clinton family spending the past few weeks in Asheville and Western North Carolina.
At our own Asheville Precinct 3 (just north of downtown and east of Broadway), Obama received 550 votes (74%), Clinton received 187 (25%) and “Other” received 7.
In addition, we supported the movement to bring new leaders to the Buncombe County Commission. The top four candidates in the list below move on to the general election on November 4. The first number after each name is the percentage of the vote garnered, the second number is the candidates’ total vote in the county and the number in parentheses is his/her vote in Precinct 3.
Holly Jones 21.45% 30,535 (547)
K. Ray Bailey 14.94% 21,268 (304)
Carol Weir Peterson 13.81% 19,655 (152)
William H. (Bill) Stanley 12.29% 17,499 (130)
Cecil Bothwell 11.54% 16,425 (439)
Keith Thomson 8.70% 12,380 (305)
Vernon E. Dover 6.90% 9,822 (46)
J. Ray Elingburg 5.81% 8,267 (44)
Robert E. (Bob) Hill 4.58% 6,524 (46)
As you can see our friend Cecil Bothwell (who lives in Precinct 3) barely missed the cut. Congratulations on a well-run grassroots campaign, Cecil Here’s hoping you’ll run for city council next year.
My gratitude to everyone involved in this grassroots effort, especially my Obama precinct co-captains Shonnie Lavender and Cindy Esselstyn who worked tirelessly for the next President of the United States, and for other progressive candidates in North Carolina and Buncombe County. Thanks also to Luke McGowan, the Obama Field Organizer for Buncombe County, who guided our efforts with a gentle hand. Good luck, Luke, wherever you are now (WV? KY? PR? OR?). Hope you make it back to this part of the world to help out with the November election.
YES WE DID!
Thursday, May 8th, 2008No Comments »
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