Mayoral Results Analysis

After the mayoral election, Jane Adams laid out the results on a map of Carbondale, indicating who won which precincts and if they won by an absolute majority.  The results are interesting.

Joel Fritzler was the clear winner, winning 11 districts, 3 of them with absolute majorities. Most of his wins were  closer to the center of town and bordering the university as he won all the districts between Emerald Lane and Illinois as well as district 25 south of Chautauqua and district 8 north of West Highway 13.   The exceptions to his wins in this area were the only 3 districts won by Sam Goldman,district 25 which included SIUC, district 22 which is adjacent to the university and 11 which includes Memorial Hospital and is also adjacent to the university..  Even in those areas, Goldman did not win absolute majorities.

Though George Maroney came in second, he only won 6 districts, none by more than 50% of the vote and all, except for district 29 which lies east of Wall Street, lie on the outer rim of the city, indicating his strength lay in Carbondale's extended suburbs.

Finally, Stephen Haynes strength was in the northeast part of Carbondale.  He won the five precincts in that area, four of them by over 50%.  Unfortunately, of the approximately 1600 registered voters in those precincts, only 313 turned out to vote, of which he won about 195.  He did win a sixth precinct, #17 located between old and new Highway 51, but only 33 people turned out to vote there.

Districts 6 thorough 16 wound up key to the mayoral election, accounting for 1891 of the 2791 votes cast. Six of Fritzler's wins fell in those districts, while Maroney had two and Goldman one, indicating that voter density was key to Fritzler's win.

Final Results

Here're the final results for today's elections if you want to take a look at them. For all the attention focused on them, voting was down significantly in the mayoral race from the Cole/Simon contest, about 40% by my rough estimation. Apparently the concerns that votes for Haynes and Goldman were votes for Maroney and against Fritzler proved overblown as Fritzler beat Maroney by 8%, indicating that a vote for Goldman would up a vote for Friztler, instead.

Fritzler and the three winners in the city council race, Don Monty, Jane Adams and Lance Jack proved once again that name recognition and a good ground game are hard to beat in politics. Monty and Fritzler about tied in terms of walking neighborhoods and knocking on doors with Adams and Jack not far behind. Fritzler also dumped a significant amount of money into direct mail as the campaign sent out several postcards in the week before the election, compared to one or two from Goldman and none that I saw from the other two candidates.

Looking at the council results, it roughly appears that most voters cast one vote each for Jane Adams and Don Monty,t hen picked a third candidate. Only about 30 votes separate Lance Jack and Tom Grant, indicating Grant's name recognition was almost enough to beat Jack's extensive campaigning. Also indicating the importance of name recognition, Janet Elizabeth Donoghue, who suspended her campaign several weeks ago, beat Candle Wester-Mittan by about 50 votes and Hugh Williams by about 10.

In the other race catching a (comparative) lot of attention, Amy Erickson won a spot on the school board for District 95, due in part to lots of support from residents of the Arbor District, who hosted several "get to know the candidate" meetings with her. Tommy McQueen-Hamilton, who had been canvassing quite a bit in his bid for a seat on the school board and had his campaign literature available at several of the candidate forums, came in last in the field of five.

Why I Am Voting For....

Joel Fritzler for mayor. Four main reasons, three of which he shares with Steven Haynes and one he doesn't:

1. Experience with city government. Similar to Haynes, he has about 6 years of experience with city council and government under his belt. Maroney and Goldman have none.

2. Part time mayor. Though some people have cited the full time availability of Goldman and Maroney in the position as an advantage, I have to wonder how having a full time mayor affects the effectiveness of Alan Gill as city manager. In a larger community, having both would certainly help the community run more effectively. However, from what I hear from talking with people who deal with the city government, Gill runs decisions by the mayor before undertaking anything, slowing decision-making at upper levels of city government. From what I have seen of the temperament of both Goldman and Maroney during various forums, I would expect them to both have management styles to Mayor Cole. Part time mayors, such as Fritzler and Haynes, would leave more decisions in the hands of the city manager, which is why we pay him.

3. He asked me for my vote, as did Haynes. Despite speaking with both Goldman and Maroney at several forums, neither asked for me to vote for them. It's not a huge factor but still, the personal touch does count.

And the reason Fritzler gets my vote and not Haynes:

4. He voted against the Saluki Way tax. As I have indicated before, I think the tax and the way it was implemented was the biggest mistake made by the council in the past 8 years and will haunt the city for years after the current council has long stepped down. In addition, at the first mayoral forum sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club, when asked about the tax and stadium funding, Haynes, Maroney and Goldman all indicated they still thought it a good idea. Given that I don't, I have to question whether I want them in the leadership position in Carbondale. This reason, combined with the previous three, means I will vote for Joel Fritzler on Tuesday.

Brent Ritzel's Endorsement of Steven Haynes

In case you would like to read the whole thing, here it is:

Brent Ritzel’s Endorsement of Steven Haynes for Mayor of Carbondale

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 10:00 am - Carbondale Civic Center

Good morning. I would first like to thank everyone for their patience, as I was originally expecting to make these endorsements about three weeks ago. The combination of losing a grandparent and being rather sick for a week brought me pause, and made me realize the potential importance of these decisions that I make, and these words that I share with you now, in the future direction of Carbondale. At least, for the benefit of Carbondale and the region, I hope to play that role.

Two of the things that where made quite clear to me in this campaign season are that,

1) democracy only works if we participate in it... the less “we the people” vote, the more power, influence and control that MONEY has over our elections... and the further we slip away from being agents of our own destiny. The only thing that CAN trump money in an election IS participation, so please make absolutely certain to vote in our upcoming general election Tuesday, April 5th.

If what happens in Carbondale concerns you, but you are not a registered voter in the City of Carbondale, then please “adopt a voter.” Find a friend, someone you know, who is registered in the City of Carbondale, buddy up with them, and take responsibility for making sure that they make it to the polls to vote. There are a number of ways to participate in democracy, and voter education and advocacy is one of the more impactful.

The second thing made quite clear to me is that the residents of Carbondale crave “connection.” We crave connection to each other as a united community, we crave connection and access to our beautiful surroundings, and above all, we crave leadership that is truly connected to our needs and interests as the residents of Carbondale. We need leadership that is connected to the reality of 100% of the residents of Carbondale, and creates policy that reinforces those values.

Coming to know Steven Haynes through this election process I understand him to be a very intelligent, open minded, comprehensivist thinker and feeler, who prioritizes the residents of Carbondale over any institutional or ideological commitments.

Of all the mayoral candidates Steven has put forth the most positive and inclusive vision for Carbondale’s future that is grounded in immediately implementable plans that focus on local business creation, and a return to mixed use progressive city planning that takes advantage of natural cost saving measures like energy efficiency and utilizing renewable energy sources.

I also find Steven to be most insightful concerning the nature and make-up of the full diversity of Carbondale, including our economic diversity, as he stands as the only remaining "people's candidate" fully capable of considering 100% of ALL residents of Carbondale.

Steven Haynes understands the current reality of Carbondale as having the lowest median household income in the entire United States, for cities of 20,000 or more people. Steven understands that four out of nine of our residents live in poverty, and one in four Carbondale residents are living on less than $106 per week. There can be no doubt that we live in a special needs community.

Right now, we need the in-touch, engaged and collaborative leader that is Steven Haynes. According to my friend Peter Lemish, who has been leading a social and economic justice study of several candidates for local office, “Steven Haynes applies a balanced, comprehensive & inclusive approach to dealing with the town’s significant problems, such as housing, racism and economic growth.”

The most important thing that I want you to know about Steven Haynes is that he supports the continued AND expanded funding of Carbondale’s social service, educational, arts, and preservation non-profit organizations...

Now this is where comprehensivist thinking is essential to understanding complex non-linear systems like a City.... here is an example....

Ever since 1997 The City of Carbondale Police Department has been receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Violence Against Women Grants Office to coordinate activities related to improving the criminal justice response to domestic violence offenses. For example, on September 23, 2009, the City of Carbondale was awarded $366,351 in funding under the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (GTEAP).

At that time Mayor Brad Cole stated, “This award demonstrates the City of Carbondale’s commitment to enhancing victim safety and offender accountability in cases of domestic violence through pro-arrest policies and a coordinated community response. The collaborative partnerships between the criminal justices agencies, victim service providers and community organizations which respond to cases of domestic violence are an integral part of the criminal justice system and this grant will further enhance their efforts.”

The Project Steering Committee for the GTEAP consists of representatives of the City of Carbondale Police Department, Carbondale Women’s Center, Southern Illinois University Carbondale Department of Public Safety and School of Law, First Circuit Probation Services of Jackson County, Jackson County State’s Attorney Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Murphysboro Police Department.

Due to these Pro-Arrest grants, the city of Carbondale and Jackson County have achieved significant gains in providing a coordinated community response to domestic violence. These “charities” like the Women’s Center and the Boys and Girls Club are irreplaceable services AND vital players in our comprehensive problem solving strategies as a City. They are key to the City of Carbondale even getting these funds to begin with.

We simply cannot allow our own personal ideologies or purely intellectual commitments stand in the way of meeting the real life, day to day needs of the people of Carbondale. Steve Haynes understands that an individual’s personal ideological commitments can NEVER stand in the way of doing what is RIGHT for the residents of Carbondale, to always deliver the best possible Return On Investment.

Some candidates in this mayoral race prioritize their ideologies, the thoughts in their heads, over the practical needs of the residents of Carbondale. There simply is no room for such myopic perspectives in local government, especially when they run counter to the well-established values of our community.

Some candidates are committed to defunding all City-supported social service, educational, arts and preservation non-profits... dismantling decades of progress and the City of Carbondale’s comprehensive approach to problem solving... and erasing our civic commitment to high value programs that deliver proven returns on investment.

These programs are vital pieces of the City of Carbondale’s comprehensive problem solving methodologies that have both short and long term impacts on the most pressing issues of our community: childhood education, after school crime, domestic violence, and civil rights violations, among others.

These non-profits are essential partners in our city’s comprehensive problem solving strategies for economic development, criminal justice, and fostering civic-minded residents. These programs add immense value to our community, improve our overall quality of life, and are the type of amenities that attract people to live in our community.

Not only must we support them, we need to expand them. Why? Because it improves us on all levels as a community, and gets an incredible short term and long term Return On Investment. These essential services cannot be left to the vagaries of private tithing, especially given their proven effectiveness and impact, and the essential services role they play in our community.

Steven Haynes gets it. You can find the following on www.Haynes2011.com:

“As mayor I will fight to continue the current level of financing for community programs and support the efforts of those organizations. In order to provide a more stable revenue stream for these critical community programs 1/4 of 1 percent of the city sales tax should be dedicated to community service organizations. To do this I will ask the new council to place on the next available election cycle a request of the Community to vote on this proposal.”

Steven Haynes also understands that these key social service non-profits foster economic development, as they create jobs and they raise up the most vulnerable among us so that we are all more capable of participating in our economy!

We need a mayor that prioritizes the RESIDENTS of this community, especially those most vulnerable among us. Those ARE OUR VALUES as a community. That is why the City Of Carbondale is committed to supporting organizations and programs that deliver high Returns On Investment both socially and economically: Boys & Girls Club, The Women’s Center, The African-American Museum, Carbondale Community Arts, Carbondale Main Street, the I Can Read Program, Attucks Services Board...

As Steven Haynes has reminded me, “if we do not take care of those in most need now, our whole community will pay a much greater price in the future.”

Mayoral Forums

Just got back from the 2nd Carbondale mayoral forum in as many days. This one, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, was not nearly as well attended as yesterday's, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Of course, yesterday's came with lunch so food was a draw then.

The thing that struck me most about the forums was George Maroney's sense of humor. He didn't show much of one during his interviews or meet & greets earlier in the campaign but it certainly came out during these two events. Fritzler, only the other hand, wasted a good opportunity to differentiate himself from his opponents Wed. night during the "pose a question to your opponent" section of the forum and chose to ask what their favorite pizza topping was.

Overall the candidates acquitted themselves adequately. Suprisingly, I heard little mention of either downtown development or development of the northeast section of the city. Haynes and Goldman were mushc more general in their responses than were Fritzler and Maroney. Fritzler would like to remove moneys generated by the hotel tax from the Convention and Tourism bureau (which has funded a number of Mayor Cole's trips over the years) to the city's General Fund and would reactivate the city's street sweepers which were put into storage to save the city $200,000 per year, despite the fact that the city is still paying on them.

Maroney is also concerned about city cleanliness, though he didn't get as specific as Fritzler, feels that zoning regulations should be loosened and is very concerned about the amusement park completed proposed for Marion, which he feels will hurt Carbondale greatly if it comes to fruition.

Based on what I have seen from these events so far, it looks as if the election is really between Fritzler and Maroney

Council Candidates Meet and Greet

Just got back from the League of Women Voters Meet & Greet for the city council candidates. Good turnout as I counted about 50 interested voters there over the course of the hour I spent there. Mayoral candidates Joel Fritzler, Steven Haynes and Brent Ritzel made appearances as well. Did not speak much with council candidates Jane Adams, Don Monty, Tom Grant, Lee Fronabarger or Lance Jack since they are fairly well known, due to their activities in the community, instead talking with Jessica Bradshaw, John Holt, Montana Goodman, Earl Czajkowski, Jerrold Hennrich, Hugh Williams and Candle Wester-Mitten. Missed talking with Craig Anz, Michael Riley and Rich Jackson.

Yard Signs

Since I has a free half hour or so this morning, I took a drive through the western side of C'dale looking for yard signs for the various candidates in the upcoming primary. While I didn't take any counts (the whole driving the car made that impractical), here are the general impressions:

Jane Adams and Don Monty are the only city council candidates with any yard signs out in the areas I drove through (Arbor District, southwest and northwest areas). Most appears alone in a yard, though about 15-20% of homes had both signs there.

All the mayoral candidates had signs out, though I did not spot a Brent Ritzel sign until late this afternoon, while driving down a side street off N. Oakland. George Maroney and Joel Fritzler had about the same number of signs out, with Fritzler more common in the Arbor District and just west of there, while more Maroney signs appeared out by Tower Road and to the west. Sam Goldman signs are common near the hospital and are the only signs in yards in the retirement community area north of Old Rt 13, but pretty space otherwise.

I only spotted 3 Steven Haynes signs, one in front of Hundley House and the other two scattered in the area around S. Oakland and Emerald Lane.

Though it is still about a month until the primary, signage gives an indication of the depth of current support for the candidates as only more dedicated supporters will have signs out in their yards now. This is also only support on the western side of town. I will check out levels of visible support on the east side next week.

Update: I see several Ritzel signs have popped up along W. Sycamore since yesterday.

Questionaire Responses

4 of the five mayoral candidates have sent their questionnaire responses to the Shawnee Green Party:

Joel Fritzler
Sam Goldman
Steven Haynes
George Maroney

Looking over the responses, George Maroney's focus is on safety. Half of his answers involve improving or increasing the safety of Carbondale as an answer to the community's problems. He views city government's function as maintaining civic infrastructure and public safety, then getting out of the way of business.

Sam Goldman's long involvement with both SIUC and the local health care community are evident from his answers. He sees both SIUC and SI Healthcare as economic drivers for the region and would have the city be supportive of both. Like Maroney, Goldman believes city govenment should encourage business and " where warranted, change regulatory policies and actions to assure that they are not unnecessarily burdensome to business, while preserving the quality and standard of living our citizens expect. We need to aggressively pursue business enterprises and offer incentives for them to “set up” shop in Carbondale. Of special interest is the development of business activity at the Southern Illinois Airport." Incidentally, Goldman's website was developed by city councilwoman Mary Pohlmann.

Joel Fritzler's answers emphasized his experience with the city due to his service on the city council and his time with the Carbondale Main Street program. His responses to the sustainability and environmental question posed by the survey are more detailed than the previous two candidates, nor does he mention the city needing to lessen regulatory burdens on business as they do. He does not mention the university or health care as economic drivers for the region and there's no indication of any proposal to increase city growth, save for downtown revitalization. Fritzler goes into the most detail of any of the candidates in his answers to the survey questions.

The last of the four to turn in a questionnaire response, Steven Haynes, also emphasizes his council experience and as well as the importance of SIUC to city economic well being. He does not view safety as such a vital issue as Maroney does, nor does he place as much emphasis on healthcare as an economic engine as Goldman. He would enforce current statutes and regulations to enhance sustainability and environmental health within the community. Haynes gave the most general answers of the four, twice refering readers to his website for more information on his positions in response to a question. None of the other candidates referred to their websites in response to any of the questions.

Edited to fix an error in Sam Goldman's name. Edited again to correct the spelling of Mary Pohlmann's name.

Candidate Websites

Jane Adams has the only website up that I could find of any of the candidates. I've been told Steven Haynes has one as well but several minutes of using Google didn't turn it up.

Steven Haynes Interview

WSIU interviewed mayoral candidate Steven Haynes Monday morning. You can listen to the interview here. Some notiable points from the interview:

46+ year resident of Carbondale, attended SIUC for a couple of years before leaving the university and going to work for Kroger, where he's a assistant store manager.

Brings 8 years of council experience, managerial experience and ability to listen to the position.

Questioned about downtown, says Carbondale needs an overall focus rather than a focus on the mall, the east side, or downtown.

The city will probably not going to see a manufactuing plant in Carbondale but wants to get people in the non-existant plant to live and shop in Carbondale(?)

SIUC and Carbondale must survive together. People living outside Carbondale come to town daily to work at the university.

Questioned about comprehensive plan and property tax, says he's been a longtime opponent of raising the property tax. However, admits there is a perception that Carbondale has high property taxes, due to other taxing entities. Says he will keep an open mind on property taxes and sales taxes increases.

One thing he would bring back if elected is the affirmative action officer's position eliminated earlier this year.

Five for Mayor

Just checked with the city clerk and Steven Haynes announced his candidacy yesterday but has not yet filed the nominating petitions. Brent Ritzel filed his petitions at 4:45 yesterday, making him the 4th official candidate.

Ritzel not Haynes

Heard on the news this morning that Steven Haynes had filed a petition for the maoyoral slot. However, according to the official press release, it's actually Brent Ritzel

Four (4) candidates have filed their nominating petitions for Mayor of Carbondale and five (5) candidates have filed their nominating petitions for Carbondale City Council Member.

At 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning, three candidates filed their nominating petitions for Mayor. Since these three candidates all filed at the same time, a lottery for ballot placement will be held on Tuesday, November 23, at 3:30 p.m. in the City Clerk's Office. Only these three candidates will be involved in the lottery to determine the order in which these names will appear on the ballot. Candidates who subsequently file for Mayor will appear on the ballot in the order in which their nominating petitions are received. Listed alphabetically below are the three candidates who have filed for Mayor and will be involved in the Lottery as well as the one new candidate who will be listed in fourth position on the ballot:

L - Joel Fritzler, 123 South Violet Lane

L - Sam Goldman, 504 Lexington Court

L - George Maroney, 37 Pinewood Drive

4 - Brent Ritzel, 2511 South Illinois Avenue Unit 71 (filed Monday at 4:45 p.m.)

Also at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning, four candidates filed their nominating petitions for City Council Member. These four candidates will also be placed in a lottery for ballot placement on November 23rd. Listed alphabetically below are the City Council Candidates who will be involved in the Lottery as well as one additional candidate who has submitted nominating petitions for City Council member and will be listed in fifth position on the ballot.

L - Jane Adams, 606 West Elm Street

L - Lee M. Fronabarger, 1140 Morningside Drive

L - John Holt, 406 South Oakland Avenue

L - Donald Monty, 418 South Giant City Road

5 - Hugh Richard Williams, 611 East Park Street #117

If five (5) or more candidates file for Mayor, a Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. The Primary Election will narrow the field to four (4) candidates for Mayor, with the four candidates appearing on the April 5th General Election ballot. Ballot placement for the General Election is determined by the number of votes received in the Primary Election, with the highest vote-getter placed first on the ballot, the second highest vote-getter placed second on the ballot, etc..

If thirteen (13) or more candidates file for City Council member, a Primary Election will also be held for Council Member to narrow the field to twelve (12) candidates. Again, ballot placement for the candidates advancing to the General Election will be determined by the number of votes received in the Primary.

The period for filing nominating petitions for Mayor and/or City Council extends through 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 22nd. Nomination packets remain available for pick up in the City Clerk's Office, Room 165 of Carbondale City Hall, 200 South Illinois Avenue.

Ritzel for Mayor?

According to the B(ee)tl(juice) blog, local renewable energy maven Brent Ritzel has announced he's running for mayor of Carbondale. This puts him up there with Councilman Joel Fritzler, who has expressed an interest in running, former city Building and Neighborhood Services manager Tom Grant, who has also expressed some interest in running, and Councilman Steven Haynes, who AFAIK has not expressed any public interest in running, but whose potential candidacy has been mentioned by a few community leaders.