Incumbents off to strong start in Early Voting
Saturday, May 12, 2012 by Jo Clifton
Mayor Lee Leffingwell and three City Council incumbents each seemed to be winning handily as early votes were counted tonight. Mayoral opponent Brigid Shea garnered 34 percent of the early vote and Leffingwell’s third opponent, Clay Dafoe, got 11 percent.
Leffingwell and Bill Spelman each had 55 percent of the approximately 20,000 votes cast by mail and in early voting. Spelman is all but assured of winning the race tonight without a runoff. He overcame six challengers, with Dominic Chavez his nearest competitor at 20 percent.
Council Member Sheryl Cole raked in nearly 70 percent of the early vote and her opponent Shaun Ireland got slightly more than 30 percent. Council Member Mike Martinez got 54 percent. Martinez’ only opponent, Laura Pressley, received 45 percent.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir has projected about 10 percent total turnout for this election. Nearly 5 percent of county voters voted early and by mail.
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