If you hadn't heard, the David Oh / Jack Kelly race is too close to
call. The last precincts still need to get their results in, and then
there are absentee ballots to count, and likely a recount of
everything, but as of right now, David is up by 24 (!) votes: 60,291
to 60,267. This has got to be one of the closest races in the history
of City Council.
My day for David started at 7:45 in the morning, when I schlepped my
daughter to the polls to vote and then to hand out placards. Jada
played in the puddles and enjoyed the rain pelting her raincoat in
between doing her share of pushing literature, but it got too cold for
me to keep her out there in the elements and I had to run off to a
work-related meeting, so we bounced by 8:30. I only wish more people
had voted while we were there; the ones who did come were either aware
of David or open to hearing about why they should vote for him.
I had my wife text me results every half-hour after the polls closed
at 8 in the evening, as I was in the middle of a church leadership
meeting. At 9:30, I took the trolley downtown to McGillin's, where
David had rented out a room to celebrate or mourn, depending on the
outcome. And what a roller-coaster it was: David had started out
trailing by a couple thousand votes, but by the time I got to
McGillin's, he was gaining fast. I think it was about 10:30 when we
got the first announcement of him surging into the lead . . . only to
hear three announcements later that he had fallen behind. And so it
went - up 104, down 90, up 50, and so on and so on. At 11:30, people
were saying he was up 40 but it was too close to call tonight, so I
went home.
And that brings us to the present. Let's hope the recount is fair,
and that it's in David's favor. It would be a historic win, as David
would be Philadelphia's first Asian-American City Councilperson. And
it would mean we would have an honest, virtuous industrious leader in
a position of influence. As Mayor-elect Michael Nutter put it often
last night, it's a new day. Here's to David being part of it.
http://blogs.phillynews.com/dailynews/nextmayor/2007/11/oh_report.html
http://www.kyw1060.com/City-Council-At-Large-Race-May-Take-Weeks-to-Decid/1186008
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/11103822.html
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