Robinson re-elected in Cary's District A

CARY -- Jennifer Robinson, who has represented Cary's biggest political district for most of the past decade, will continue in that role for another four years.

Robinson beat back an organized campaign by Democratic challenger Lori Bush in today's runoff for the town's District A Town Council seat. Robinson captured 53.35 percent of the vote. Bush received 46.6 percent.

The result settles one of the closest races in the Triangle this election season.

Robinson, a Republican, narrowly missed an outright victory in the town's Oct. 6 general election. She claimed 49.97 percent of the vote when she faced three Democratic challengers. Bush, the closest of her three opponents, received 42.3 percent of the vote then.

The win also ends a contentious campaign in which Robinson faced a barrage of attacks. Bush painted Robinson as overly friendly with developers. Robinson said that such claims weren't accurate and that both Bush and her supporters sought to deceive voters about her record.

Bush's loss dealt a blow to slow-growth advocates, who backed her promise of tighter controls on development. Bush promised to usher in an era of change, especially for developers eyeing the fertile ground of District A, the town's largest and most untouched.

Robinson has said that growth itself won't be Cary's biggest issue in the next few years but rather how to pay for growth that has already occurred -- without raising taxes.