Cary: District A race may be decided in runoff

CARY -- The bout for Cary's biggest district may have to be decided in round 2.

Republican incumbent Jennifer Robinson, who has represented District A for a decade, was positioned late Tuesday to defend her seat in a Nov. 3 runoff election against Democratic challenger Lori Bush.

With all precincts reporting, Robinson had 49.97 percent of the vote -- just shy of what she needed to seal the victory. Bush had 42.3 percent of the vote.

Candidates need to have just more than 50 percent to claim the title.

In a race this close, election officials will have to count provisional ballots to make sure a runoff is warranted. Bush said she planned to request a runoff today.

"It's one on one," Bush said as she watched the votes come in. "It's time for us to show our clear differences to the voters of Cary."

Two other candidates, Cindy Sinkez and Terry Thorne, were able to poach enough votes to keep things tight. Sinkez carried 5 percent and Thorne had 2.7 percent.

Meanwhile, Jack Smith's reign on the council was extended in District C.

And incumbent Julie Robison was the winner in the at-large race.

The debate over how to manage growth in this western Wake County suburb was again the centerpiece of campaigns this year.

This affluent town has been one of the fastest growing municipalities in the region.

District A is the town's biggest and the one that has the most opportunity for developers.

And advocates of slower growth were able to sway enough voters to the person they thought would best represent them.

A slow-growth advocacy group called DavisandHighHouse.org backed Bush, and sought to paint Robinson as protective of developer interests in the weeks leading up to the election. The same group helped Mayor Harold Weinbrecht unseat Ernie McAlister in 2007.

"I'm irritated that an entity or an organization can inaccurately pain a picture of my service and dupe citizens in to thinking I'm something other than I am," Robinson said Tuesday evening.

But Bush has proven that she could also win over a pro-growth crowd.

She was neck-and-neck with Robinson in a recent straw poll conducted by the Triangle Community Coalition, a developer-backed group.

Bush watched the election returns with a few dozen supporters at her home. She said it was nerve-racking to watch the votes come in. "It's my first time to have this kind of response," she said. "I'm absolutely thrilled."

She said she hopes to engage Robinson in a series of debates for the runoff.

The question now: Do supporters of Sinkez or Thorne feel strongly enough about Robinson or Bush to vote again?

Elsewhere in Cary, voters in District C decided to stick with Smith, a 20-year incumbent. Smith had 65 percent of the vote. Challenger Catherine Evangelista had 34 percent. The growth debate in one of Cary's more established political districts centered more on redevelopment of existing properties, rather than building upon virgin land.

Robison ran virtually unopposed in the at-large race. Her would-be opponent, Philip Scarsella, remained on the ballot although he officially ended his campaign in August due to health concerns.

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