Incumbents dominate Democratic primaries
Updated: February 27, 2013
URBANA -- There might not have been many votes, but there were enough to give the mayor a chance to keep her job.
Mayor Laurel Prussing won the Democratic primary Tuesday night over Les Stratton. That sets her up for a rematch against Republican candidate Rex Bradfield.
Only about 10% of registered voters showed up for this election. The clerk was originally expecting about 20%.
Prussing nabbed 65% of the votes totaling 1,288. Stratton collected 35% totaling 698. He feels the bad weather had a worse impact on his totals then Prussing.
Prussing says she's glad there was a primary. She says it forces her to get a lot of campaign work done early. Plus voters already know her stance on the issues surrounding Urbana. Now she has her sights set on April's election.
"I think Mr. Stratton ran a very energetic campaign. He was very gracious. He came over and congratulated me. So I think we'll just move on," she said.
Stratton says he's proud of his campaign, but he wishes this race was a non-partisan election rather than having a Democratic primary. He says he'll now be on the sidelines, carefully monitoring if city leaders follow up on the questions he raised in his campaign.
As for the April election, Prussing says she's eager to get back out in the community and talk with voters. And even though she's run against Bradfield before, she knows every election is different. --
All the votes have been counted in the race for Urbana City Clerk. Incumbent Phyllis Clark had 77% of the vote totaling 1,418 votes. Robert Gatsche took 23% totaling 424.
Phyllis Clark wins the nomination. There are currently no republicans running against her in April.
The last time Urbana had a Democratic primary race for mayor, nearly 5,000 voters showed up to the polls. Tuesday, it was just under 2,000. In fact, one polling place only had three total votes. And it had four precincts combined.
The County Clerk is blaming Mother Nature for the low turnout. He says primaries typically are slow, but adding rain and snow didn't help.
Only about 10% of registered voters showed up for this election. The clerk was originally expecting about 20%.
Prussing nabbed 65% of the votes totaling 1,288. Stratton collected 35% totaling 698. He feels the bad weather had a worse impact on his totals then Prussing.
Prussing says she's glad there was a primary. She says it forces her to get a lot of campaign work done early. Plus voters already know her stance on the issues surrounding Urbana. Now she has her sights set on April's election.
"I think Mr. Stratton ran a very energetic campaign. He was very gracious. He came over and congratulated me. So I think we'll just move on," she said.
Stratton says he's proud of his campaign, but he wishes this race was a non-partisan election rather than having a Democratic primary. He says he'll now be on the sidelines, carefully monitoring if city leaders follow up on the questions he raised in his campaign.
As for the April election, Prussing says she's eager to get back out in the community and talk with voters. And even though she's run against Bradfield before, she knows every election is different. --
All the votes have been counted in the race for Urbana City Clerk. Incumbent Phyllis Clark had 77% of the vote totaling 1,418 votes. Robert Gatsche took 23% totaling 424.
Phyllis Clark wins the nomination. There are currently no republicans running against her in April.
The last time Urbana had a Democratic primary race for mayor, nearly 5,000 voters showed up to the polls. Tuesday, it was just under 2,000. In fact, one polling place only had three total votes. And it had four precincts combined.
The County Clerk is blaming Mother Nature for the low turnout. He says primaries typically are slow, but adding rain and snow didn't help.
