There’s a winner … but is there a mandate?
Kathy Heicher
Posted: 04.02.2008 / 8:18 PM EDT
The votes are counted, and the winners are appropriately cautious.
Incumbent Town Board member Ed Woodland beat challenger Arn Menconi for the mayor position by a vote of 734 – 126. The technical word might be “whomped.”
Why such a lopsided victory? Who knows? Many, many voters were uncomfortable with the fact that Menconi is a sitting county commissioner, who apparently also wanted to the top dog position in the town. Also, Menconi, who has been elected to two commissioner terms, has always been a lightning rod for political controversy. There’s people in the county who make a hobby out of criticizing the man, who has a very visible philosophical side, and is sometimes hard to understand.
Menconi, a two year resident of the town, made clear his opposition to proposed big box store development and rapid growth. He coined a campaign phrase late in the race: “Eagle isn’t running out of revenue. It’s running out of small town character.”
Woodland, a 10 year resident of the town who serves as the chief financial officer of his family’s construction business, which specializes in putting in infrastructure for new development, countered that regional retail is already here, and more is on the way. He argued that new big box development would have to be financially viable, with proven benefit to the town.
Two of the three successful Town Board candidates, Roxie Deane and Kraige Kinney, campaigned alongside Woodland, with a “retrial development is coming this way, let’s make the best of it” sort of philosophy. Both had the advantage of incumbent name recognition.
On the other hand, the top Board vote-getter was Yuri Kostick, a 36-year-old land use planner with a young family. His campaign called for caution in accepting big box development, citing concerns about small town character, and the need for a cohesive community vision. Two other candidates with similar philosophies fared well in the election, but didn’t collect quite enough votes to win a Town Board seat.
Woodland, the newly elected mayor, says the Town Board election shouldn’t be viewed as a referendum for big box retail development. He notes that people voted on a wide range of issues.
By the way, that voter turnout pool? There was a new record, with 873 voters casting ballots. Everybody credits Menconi’s controversial presence in the race for the high interest.
“I’m glad people turned out,” he said.
