That’s the mood at Hill’s Cafe, where Lee Leffingwell and Mike Martinez are jointly celebrating the election returns. While Martinez has won handily, and Leffingwell is leading the mayoral race, the question here is if Leffingwell can eke out enough extra votes to tip over into a 50% plurality, forsaking the need for a run-off. Facing a nail-biter, would it have made Leff feel a little better if he was only aroubnd 40% – assured a place in the run-off, but minus the drama of potentially winning outright? “Not at all,” he says. While admitting he’s a “little bit surprised,” he nonetheless felt they lead going into the election.
With Carole Keeton Strayhorn having conceded already, the only question right now is rather Leff can break away into 50%. Stay tuned …
This article appears in May 8 • 2009.