Candidates for La Plata Ward 2 seat set after primary
Norris falls short with votes
Incumbent Councilman C. Keith Back and Brent Finagin will go head to head in the Town of La Plata general election May 2 as a result of the recent primary election that narrowed the three Ward 2 candidates to two. Candidate Jon W. Norris lacked the amount of votes needed to move forward to the general election.
The primary was held March 20 to narrow the ballot for the general election to two candidates for the Ward 2 seat. The other three wards and the mayoral race has two candidates apiece.
According to Town Clerk Danielle Mandley, Back had 119 votes, Finagin had 110 votes and Norris had 52 votes. With a total of 6,741 registered voters in the town, according to Mandley, roughly four percent of registered voters in the town cast their ballot.
“The citizens elected who they would like to see in the general election,” Back said. “People know what I’ve done in the past and I hope they will vote for me in the general election as well. I’m very happy to have won the primary election and I’ll be re-energized for the general election in May.”
“I am sincerely grateful for the support I received in the primary election,” Finagin said. “The outcome of this primary is a clear indication that residents and local business owners desire a change from the status quo. I’m happy about everything [A New Day For La Plata] has done as a campaign up to this point and I think that what we want to do and why we’re running is resonating with a lot of voters. I hope people take stock of what is really going on in the town and think about where they want the town to go in the future.”
“A New Day for La Plata” is the name given to the slate of candidates supported by the La Plata Business Association. It does not contain an incumbent.
Back and Finagin said they hope to see more voter participation in the general election and they look forward to encouraging new voters to come out and cast their vote in May.
Despite his loss, Norris remained in good spirits.
“Considering our campaign was really up and running for only two weeks, I believe we did surprisingly well,” Norris said. “Everything we learned about the town election seems to be guaranteed to support the incumbents but based on these results in the primary election, the incumbents might have trouble in the general election.”
Ward 2 resident Suzanne Lee said it was tough to pick a candidate this time around but she voted for a candidate who she felt is responsible, dependable and is someone who represents the Ward 2 community.
“I was looking for a candidate who is as worried about the residents as they are about the business community,” said local resident Sharon Garner. “All I keep hearing is about the business community but what about the residents? I’m hoping that the town continues to be focused on the residents because I think its interesting that they keep saying the business association are supporting certain candidates but none of the business owners live in the town and are not voting. They need to tell us what they’re going to do for us — the citizens.”
Mike Martin said he voted in favor of Back because Back’s family is very involved in the Ward 2 community and he feels that is an admirable quality to have in a candidate.
“I’m with the A New Day for La Plata slate because I’m a business owner,” said resident Susan Peterson. “I grew up here and I want La Plata to be more of a progressive town. I don’t want it to be a town that is worried about keeping the status quo ... It’s also good to see women running in the general election.”
Mary Richards recently became a La Plata resident five months ago. She said her ideal Ward 2 candidate is someone who will take care of the town — “keep it clean and presentable, and keep the taxes down.”
Ward 1 resident Jamie Schneider said she is looking for honesty and loyalty to the town from the Ward 2 candidates. She said she hopes to get to know more about all of the other candidates as the general election approaches.
“The town has made tremendous strides since the tornado has come through — to build everything back up. I think they’re definitely going in the right direction. It will be interesting to see what happens when we get to vote for the new mayor,” said resident Kathy Lauber.
The general election will be Tuesday, May 2. For more information about the election, contact Mandley at dmandley@townoflaplata.org, or 301-934-8421.