Chapman wins in landslide
David Chapman felt the sting of criticism for a lackluster campaign, but come election day he handily defended his seat on the Ashland City Council against challenger Randy Dolinger.
Chapman won 69 percent of the vote, with Dolinger taking 23 percent. Only Alice Hardesty, who ran unopposed for Seat 1, garnered more total votes than Chapman, who won 5,324.
"I feel pretty pleased," he said this morning. "I didn't know what to expect."
He said he learned valuable lessons as a councilor through the campaign process.
"It's important that people know why you are voting for things," Chapman said. "I've always reached out to people before I make decisions but I've been negligent in going back to them. When you vote against someone, you need to go back and say, 'I heard you. This is why I voted the way I did."
On Tuesday night, Dolinger called the initial results "illuminating," though he added, "I'm not ready to concede."
He could not be reached for further comment this morning.
Dolinger, who is homeless, ran on a platform of getting back to basics. He said Ashland had become enamored with big picture plans, and had forgotten to take care of smaller issues, such as fixing broken amenities like the Plaza fountains and Lithia Park bathrooms. He won several local endorsements and state-wide attention.
Chapman said he wants to incorporate some of Dolinger's campaign ideas into city policy.
"I want to make sure his platform is heard," Chapman said. "A lot of Randy's points were that the city is skipping out on the small stuff. I think we need to catch those things."
The Oregonian called the election for Chapman at 10 p.m. Tuesday night, noting Dolinger outspent Chapman by a ration of 20 to 1.
"In Ashland, home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University and reliably liberal city politics," the Oregonian reported on its Web update of this race, "the prospect of a homeless city leader was apparently too much for some voters."
Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456.
