Democrats Sweep Roanoke City Council Race

It what can best be described as signs of intelligent life in the Star City, three democrats swept yesterday's city council elections. The Roanoke Times reports:

Democrats David Trinkle, Ray Ferris and Bill Bestpitch swept Roanoke City Council elections Tuesday, shutting out the first full ticket of Republicans since 2002 and ensuring the continuance of a Democratic monopoly on the council.

Trinkle and Ferris cruised to easy wins, racking up margins in the Lee-Hi and two South Roanoke precincts, where turnout was much heavier than the city average.

Bestpitch narrowly finished third, besting Republican Bob Craig by 426 votes -- or at little more than 2 percent of the vote. The rest of the field included Republicans Mike Powell and Tony Walker and independent Carl Cooper, in that order.

"A win is a win. I don't look at whether it was a narrow win," said Bestpitch, who rejoins the council after serving a term from 2000-04. "You're on city council for the same four years whether you win by 4,000 votes or 400; it doesn't make any difference."

As the leading vote-getter, Trinkle will become vice mayor for the second time when the new council terms begin in July, barring any major change when the Tuesday vote is certified. Trinkle was also vice mayor from 2006-08. He also joins Councilman Sherman Lea as the only sitting council members to win concurrent terms.