Adam Wright, Ben Clapsaddle and Faith Cross won their seats on the Wake Forest Town Board in Tuesday’s election, according to the unofficial reports
from the Wake County Board of elections.
Wright won his second term on the board with 2,914 votes or 22.77percent of the vote; Clapsaddle had 2,581 votes, 20.17 percent; and Cross had 23.06, 18.02percent. Joe Kimray was fourth with 11,945 votes, 15.20 percent; Tom Balman won 1,860 votes, 14.53 percent; and Jim Thompson had 1,086 votes, 8.49 percent. The elections board has to certify the elections after surveying and checking the totals.
The three winners will be sworn in after the regular town board meeting on Dec. 19 and will take their seats for official business in January.
Voting in the county was sparse. The elections board said that countywide only 17 percent of Wake’s eligible voters — 41,693 — went to the polls out of 243,328 registered. Exact figures for Wake Forest were not available Wednesday, but the relatively low numbers of votes cast say few of the 35,694 registered voters did vote though they are 63 percent of the 56,681 people in the town limits. At 17 percent, a total of 6,068 seems like the turnout Tuesday.
People have said that Wake Forest, or parts of it, are Republican, but this was an election where the two Democrats won the most votes. The current listing of Wake Forest voters by precinct show that the Unaffiliated voters are the majority in all but two precincts — 19-16 and 19-17 — and there the majority are Democrats.
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5 Responses
I have lived in Wake Forest for 17 years. In most of the local elections the parties picked candidates. In 2007 I canvassed for Velma Boyd at my polling place. Another candidate running made a comment to me about the fact that the Democratic Party endorsed her. That candidate was endorsed by the Republicans. It’s not a recent phenomena. I can also say wirh clarity and experience that just because I am a Republican does not mean I will always support the endorsed candidates. My party does not ask me for my opinion in these matters. If more people paid attention to what goes on in society we would all be better off.
While I am not found of the situation, unfortunately, It seems that all political races at all levels have become at least somewhat partisan in nature. All candidates had the same opportunity to see help from their party
It seems obvious the winning candidates’ messaging, regarding concerns about managing approaches to growth, infrastructure, traffic, and other related issues, resonated strongly with voters and it seems they did a better job of identifying/prioritizing voter concerns and focused their campaigns accordingly. I know, from personal experience, that involvement/service into the community does not always “carry the day”.
With regard to “partisan politics”, I served as a WF Commissioner for 8 years in the 1990’s and I do not recall any issue that came before the board that was partisan (Democrat vs. Republican) in nature and I think this has pretty much been the norm since then. Let’s not let WF elections fall victim to the divisive (sometimes “nasty”) partisan campaigns that we have seen at other levels and other places!
In closing, I say thanks to all who ran and offered their service and congratulations and best whishes to those who were elected as they undertake their responsibilities.
Matthew,
You are spot on. Look at the two candidates who didn’t seek a party endorsement. Neither won. And one was a downtown business owner, WF Chamber member and former chair of the Board, WF Citizen of the year, Planning Board member and chair and was bested by two unknowns who’ve never served the town. One never even voted in municipal election after living here for 14 years. Looks like partisan politics is now the name of the game, even on the local level.
I feel like this election was much less about partisan support and more about which candidates connected with the active voters in WF. With such small turnout, it is name recognition, loud and clear voice, favors/connections, and word of mouth that are much more important. None of the candidates widely advertised which party they were affiliated with, and they were smart to do so. It’s less about whether you love/hate (*insert controversial leaders of either party*), and more about how you feel about development, infrastructure, town activities, etc.
Soon we’ll see how these to-be commissioners actually serve the town, or if they were just loud and good at riling up voters.
The Wake County Dem Party did a good job of letting their people know of their endorsed candidates. In a low turnout, off year election, such endorsements and effective party communication will have a great impact on who wins, particularly as voters in municipal elections are naturally very engaged and often partisan.
So, the morning of the election, Wake County Dems wake up to emails from their party telling them who to vote for meant that at least several hundred votes went to Wright and Clapsaddle. The candidates were very similar in messaging, practically indistinguishable, all saying they are for controlled/smart growth, they will protect green-spaces, will prioritize traffic concerns, etc, so those endorsements matter in not just telling party members who to vote for but distinguishing candidates.