At 8:21 p.m. Tuesday night David Trinkle ended a cell phone call and shouted across a crowded room at his restaurant, Fork in the City. “Bill, you’re in,” the incumbent Roanoke City Council member told Bill Bestpitch, who was seeking a return to council after an absence of six years.
Both Trinkle and Bestpitch were nominated in a Democratic city-wide primary on Tuesday, along with political newcomer Ray Ferris, who ran neck and neck in the vote count with Trinkle. Fewer than three percent of those eligible to vote in Roanoke did so; Trinkle had the most votes with 1693.
Bestpitch edged out Valerie Garner, who was the fourth Democrat seeking one of three nominations,, by just 37 votes. The Trinkle-Ferris-Bestpitch ticket will look to continue the Democrats’ stranglehold on City Council, broken only by the election of Bill Carder and former Mayor Ralph Smith ten years ago. The trio will face off against three Republicans and an independent candidate in the May 4 general election.
Garner said last week that she had nothing to do with a reported allegation that she didn’t want to be linked to other Democrats in the field. “I was as surprised to see it out there as anyone else.” One phone bank caller dialing up local Democrats for Garner last week warned them that Ferris has supported Republicans in the past.
Garner has said that the local Democratic Party has “treated me just as fairly” as it has the other candidates. She chose to run phone banks on her own, without the other three candidates, and did not appear at Fork in the City with other local Democrats on Tuesday. Mayor David Bowers and council members Gwen Mason and Court Rosen did attend.
“I loved getting out and talking to folks… about what they were concerned [with],” said Ferris of his first campaign. He was “disappointed” with the low voter turnout. “But the goal was to get on the ticket.” Ferris, an attorney, sees “great things” ahead for Roanoke City, acknowledging that budget woes may take center stage for a while. “We need to take this opportunity to make things better.”
Trinkle, seeking a second term, said his re-nomination might be an indication that citizens “like my leadership style and personality [that] I bring to council.” He likes the makeup of the Democratic ticket but said he would have supported any of the three candidates that might have been elected Tuesday night. With such a small turnout Trinkle wouldn’t read too much into the results. “We still have a big campaign ahead of us.”
Trinkle isn’t even sure what major differences there are between the Democratic ticket and the Republicans in the race, noting that everyone is focused on the ailing economy and cash-starved budget. “We all have to pay attention to the budget…and the schools. It’s all a matter of how we want to come out of the recession.”
“Republicans,” said Trinkle, “are adamant about saying no to new revenue-producing taxes, while all of us are willing to have everything on the table.” Bestpitch echoed the notion that everything should be in play, even talk of higher taxes. This is also a good time, with new City Manager Chris Morrill in place, “to help shape the direction of Roanoke for the next decade.”
Bestpitch said Republicans in the race seem to have made up their minds beforehand that they won’t seriously consider tweaking the meals tax or other levies that can raise much-needed revenue. “That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.” He would consider tax or fee increases – and more cuts in the budget as well.
Bestpitch said voters may have opted for him in part because he does have a track record – even if he lost in a second primary six years ago. “I think they realized I learned some things when I was on Council before.”
By Gene Marrano [email protected]