|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issue: 1056 Date: 11/18/2010
|
|
Dooley turns focus to China hub, Jamestown Mall after election win
Incumbent county executive edges past Republican candidate
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Following his reelection, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley plans to turn his attention to several projects. They include helping establish a hub for trading with China, working to redevelop Jamestown Mall and reaching out to the newly-elected candidates in the Missouri Legislature.
"There's a lot to do," Dooley, 62, said Nov. 2 after the final tally. "Time to get back to work."
Dooley also wanted to put to rest the idea that he was seeking a merger between the county and St. Louis. Republican candidate Bill Corrigan used that as a cornerstone of his campaign.
The county executive believes that a merger is a good idea, but is not a political reality. "No, I'm not seeking a merger," Dooley said. "I never was. That would be voted on by the people and nobody wants it."
For a while on Nov. 2, it didn't look like the incumbent was going to get another four-year term. Dooley lagged behind Corrigan by 10 percentage points for most of the evening.
However, Dooley still had the North County voters, his longtime political strength.
Because of a heavy voter turnout, North County was the last tabulated. In the space of an hour, the onrush of votes wiped out a 10-point Corrigan lead and gave the victory to the incumbent.
Dooley, who has been the county executive for seven years, won by a 51-47 percent margin. Libertarian Theo "Ted" Brown finished with 2 percent of the vote.
Going into the election, Dooley's campaign managers had a simple strategy. "Our plan was to win Central County, split South County, lose West County and win North County," Campaign Manager John Temporiti said. At 11:35 p.m., Dooley declared victory to his supporters at the West Port Sheraton. "I want to thank the voters of St. Louis County, especially North County," Dooley said, as the crowd cheered. "I've been campaigning (in politics) for 30 years and this is the (most) gratifying moment of all. In closing, I just have to say, 'Four more years!'"
A few minutes later, Corrigan called to concede the election.
"Mr. Corrigan was gracious," Dooley said. "He congratulated me and wished us good luck." Although he was sad that he lost, Corrigan felt "honored to receive as many votes as I did." Corrigan tried to be the first Republican county executive since 1990. "We won the rest of the county," he said on Nov. 3. "We just couldn't win North County. It was a close race. We got to the one-yard line, but couldn't get it into the end zone."
Corrigan added that the close race indicated many voters embraced his message about economic recovery. "We had a mixed coalition of people," he said. "We did our best. It just wasn't enough."
Dooley won by a landslide in 2006. When asked if the electorate was sending him a message, Dooley said that those times were different. "In 2006, the economy was strong," he said. "There wasn't a Tea Party. It was just a different environment. However, a win is a win and this was a win." As for Corrigan's political future, he plans to talk to his family and his friends. "Meanwhile, I'm just going to get back to my life," Corrigan said. |
|
|
|
