A VIRTUAL Finish for November

Pontiac's mayor survives primary

Clarence Phillips is top candidate with 1,401 votes
Of The Oakland Press

ÊÊÊÊPONTIAC - State Rep. Clarence Phillips and Mayor Willie Payne came out on top over eight challengers in Tuesday's mayoral primary for a place on the ballot Nov. 8, when voters will choose one for a four-year term in the top city office.

ÊÊÊÊPhillips led in the voting, taking 1,401 votes compared with Payne's 1,196 with all precincts and absentee ballots counted by 10 p.m. Former Deputy Mayor Leon Jukowski came in third with 1,035 votes, and Councilman Charlie J. Harrison III won 909 votes. Vote totals were unoffi cial.

ÊÊÊÊVoter turnout appeared to be unusually low at about 7,913 citywide, with 6,313 at the precincts plus 1,600 in absentee ballots, a fact that surprised some political activists who thought the controversy over the city's financial problems and the high number of candidates - 10 - would bring a larger turnout than the last primary. This left a large number of candidates dividing up a small number of votes. The last primary in 2001 brought out 10,067 of 44,000 registered voters, said Deputy City Clerk Yvette Talley.

ÊÊÊÊBetween now and Nov. 8, Payne and Phillips will each fight to prove who is most worthy of the top elected offi ce.

ÊÊÊÊPhillips, who continued working in the state Legislature throughout his campaign, said he was not surprised at the voters' decision.

ÊÊÊÊ"I felt with the grass-roots campaign we put together and the way were down to people to people, door to door, street to street, it proved to be an effective way to let people know we were serious in gaining their support to work for a better community. We didn't have a lot of money, but a lot of heart and a lot of conviction," said Phillips, who previously served on the City Council.

ÊÊÊÊ"We've got some serious problems that need to be resolved," he said, noting he thinks his knowledge of state politics will help the city. "I'll work 24/7 to get this city back on track. We want to make it a good place to work and play for every child and adult."

ÊÊÊÊAlthough Payne came in second, he said: "I feel that people have shown their confidence in me as a leader. Considering the adversities and financial challenges that engulfed this city, they still believe in us. I am still the mayor until the election and I feel confident that folks will keep this administration intact."

ÊÊÊÊJukowski stayed at City Hall until the fi nal results were in.

ÊÊÊÊ"I'm disappointed. I gave it my best shot. I don't think anyone can say they've outcampaigned me," he said.

ÊÊÊÊTotals for other strong candidates were 852 for former police chief Larry Miracle and 716 for Dell Community Center director William Martinez. Systems administrator Brian James Kelly garnered 161 votes; Damon Ferguson, a pharmacy technician, took 19; National Guardsman and student Ben Shattuck Sr. had 13; George Fettig, an advocate for the mentally ill, won 3; and writein candidates had 8. ÊÊ

ÊÊSix - Payne, Harrison, Miracle, Jukowski, Phillips and Martinez - had an advantage over the others in experience and name recognition.

ÊÊÊÊCritics said Payne let the city get into a defi cit situation and acted too late to keep it from growing to $34 million. Each challenger contended there should be a change, and that he was the one that could do it.

ÊÊÊÊHowever, Payne countered that he has faced the fi nancial problems head-on after discovering them during his administration and is now gaining control over the city's finances. He has said many of the financial problems started years ago.

ÊÊÊÊIn Council District 7, Council President Everett Seay, with about 52 percent of the votes, easily won a place on the November ballot along with Kermit Williams, an account marketing executive. Seay took 495, Williams, 241; and Malkia Maisha, a housing commissioner, 129. Betty Lewis-Rand, who had dropped out of the race, took 91 votes.

ÊÊÊÊOnly District 7 had a race in the primary to narrow the field to two on the Nov. 8 ballot. The other six council districts had two or fewer candidates. All will appear on the November ballot.