By Harlan Brown DURHAM, NC, 2009/11/02 -- A pro-life Durham City Council candidate who lost in last month's primary election today endorsed another pro-life candidate who also lost in the primary and is now running as a write-in candidate. The general election is tomorrow from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. John Tarantino, who came in third in the Oct. 6 Ward 1 primary, today endorsed Sylvester Williams, who came in third in the Ward 2 primary and is now running as a write-in candidate. Taranatino cited Williams's "very conservative" stance on family value issues. Responding to Tarantino's endorsement of Williams, Darius Little, who came in fourth in the Ward 2 primary, today endorsed incumbent Howard Clement III. Little stated in a press release: My position is simple: I ran against Mr. Howard Clement because I felt that I, presented the fresh change and experience in government, which would assist the citizens of Durham to move in another direction. I am no longer in the race. As such, I completely -and without reservation- endorse Mr. Howard Clement as your Ward-2 City Councilman. I have no desire, as others evidently do, to distract the citizens of Durham with a "write in" candidacy, as some have evidently chosen to engage. The two men on the ballot have earned their right to run, alone and as such, I have endorsed Mr. Clement and would ask all 1,376 of you, to do the same. Experience matters and Mr. Clement isn't a Johnny come lately. Candidate comparison The table below lists the candidates (each incumbent is indicated by *) and then shows their position on passage of a local-option, half-cent sales tax to support public transit and their response to the following same-sex marriage and right-to-life questions: - If you had been on the city council in August when the council unanimously passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage, would you have voted yes, no, or abstain?
- Do you agree with the founders of our nation that 'all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness'? If so, does the unalienable right to life apply to all human beings regardless of size, level of development, environment, or degree of dependency? In other words, when does the unalienable right to life begin?
| Office | Candidate | More sales tax? | Same-sex marriage? | Right to life? | E-mail and website |
|---|
| Mayor | William V. (Bill) Bell* | For | Yes | From birth onward | e-mail website city website | | Steven Williams | For1 | No | Entire pregnancy | e-mail website | | Ward 1 | Cora Cole-McFadden* | For | Yes | From birth onward | e-mail website city website | | Donald A. Hughes | Against2 | Abstain | From birth onward | e-mail website | | Ward 2 | Howard Clement III* | For | Yes | From birth onward3 | e-mail city website | | Matt Drew | Against | Abstain4 | Most of the pregnancy5 | e-mail website | | Sylvester Williams | Against6 | No | Entire pregnancy | e-mail website | | Ward 3 | Allan Polak | Against | Abstain | ???7 | e-mail website | | Mike Woodard* | For | Yes | When the mother decides | e-mail website city website | - Williams said that he supports the tax with reservations, now that it is the only proposal on the table. He said that the council should have been able to come up with a better alternative.
- Hughes opposes passage of a local-option, half-cent sales tax to support public transit, “unless I am presented with data to support the assertion that an increased sales tax would not further burden our citizens and those that can least afford additional taxes.” (see City's Ward 1 candidates)
- At the Sept. 22 candidates forum, Clement said, "I'm pro-choice. I believe in a woman's unalienable right to choose whether or not to have an abortion."
- Drew takes a Libertarian position, "what relationships people have are no one else's business, especially the government."
- In an e-mail exchange following the Sept. 22 forum, Drew said the right to life begins "much closer to the conception end" than toward the birth end of the pregnancy. For more details, see Update to information on 2009 Durham City Council candidates.
- Williams is not in favor of raising taxes during a recession, even to levy a half-cent local option sales tax to support transit. (see City's Ward 2 candidates)
- Polak said, "The city has no say on that."
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