Council hopefuls continue pounding the pavement

Laura Sturza

The final four candidates for two vacant City Council seats have

little time to rest on their success as they prepare for the April 8

general election.

At Tuesday’s primary, Jef Vander Borght drew 48.5% of the vote,

Gary Bric 28.5%, Todd Campbell 24.4% and Brian Malone 21%. All aim to

join incumbent council members Dave Golonski, Stacey Murphy and

Marsha Ramos on the dais May 1. The percentages from the final count

released Friday differed from Tuesday’s percentages. The new numbers

are based on the total number of votes cast, whereas Tuesday’s were

based on votes cast only for the council race, City Clerk Margarita

Campos said. The change does not affect which candidates will advance

to the general election.

Restaurant owner Gary Bric said he was surprised by the amount of

work needed for a campaign. He plans to continue meeting people

door-to-door, and also wants to further apprise himself of the city’s

needs.

“I’d like to meet with some of the department heads ... to get

their feelings about the budget deficit and pick their brains about

what cuts they are planning to make,” Bric said.

Incumbent Jef Vander Borght was appointed to his seat by council

members when former mayor Bob Kramer resigned last year. One of his

biggest challenges has been “doing some self-pro- motion, which

doesn’t come naturally,” he said. The architect earned 4,907 of the

10,042 total votes cast -- coming close to the 50%-plus-one vote

needed to win reappointment without going to the general election.

“Whatever disappointment I had [Tuesday], I had to temper it with

having received an overwhelming number of votes,” Vander Borght said.

Realtor Brian Malone found himself taking on the role of an

educator as he talked with constituents about issues including

traffic, housing and development.

“People didn’t have a real understanding of some of things the

city is doing,” Malone said.

Environmental policy director Todd Campbell will seek more

endorsements, now that he understands their value, he said.

He credits his success so far with residents finding “that I

understand issues and I under- stand policy, and I’m someone who

knows how to get things done.”