It was out with the old and in with the new Tuesday as the result of Topeka City Council elections.
Voters elected new members Andrew Gray, Chad Manspeaker and Denise Everhart to the council, while voting out incumbents Jeff Preisner and Deborah Swank.
"I think the people of Topeka spoke, and they were ready for a change," Manspeaker said.
Chad Manspeaker lets out a scream as Colin Curtis
and the rest of the College Hill Tavern erupts with
cheers and clapping after Manspeaker beat
Deborah Swank in the District 6 City Council race.
(Photo by Anthony S. Bush, Capital-Journal)
Gray beat Preisner despite Preisner's receiving campaign contributions totaling more than 11 times as much as Gray.
The only incumbent to win was Councilman John Alcala, who was elected to an unprecedented fourth term on the council.
Shawnee County election commissioner Elizabeth Ensley said final, unofficial results of Tuesday’s general election showed that:
- Alcala defeated Dawn Kramer 974 votes to 506 in council District 2, which covers North Topeka and the city’s Oakland community.
- Everhart beat Clifford Cormier 837 votes to 692 in southeast Topeka’s District 4, where incumbent Councilman Jack Woelfel decided not to seek re-election after having held the seat since 2007.
- Manspeaker beat Swank 1,102 votes to 951 in west-central Topeka’s District 6. The result brought an end to a particularly heated race between Manspeaker and Swank, who has served on the council since 2007.
- Gray defeated Preisner 988 votes to 594 in southwest Topeka’s District 8.
Preisner, 49, has served on the council since 2003. He received political contributions between Jan. 1 and March 24 totaling $18,100, compared to $1,537.81 for Gray.
"I am extremely humbled that the people of the 8th District have chosen me by a landslide to represent them, despite the fact that we were outspent and didn’t receive any endorsements," Gray said.
Andrew Gray celebrated Tuesday night at O'Dooley's
Irish Pub and Grille, after receiving a phone call from
Jeff Preisner conceding the election. His mother Joan Gray
is on the right. (Photo by Thad Alton, Capital-Journal)
The run for public office was the second for Gray, 42, who unsuccessfully sought the Kansas governor’s office as a Libertarian in November.
Gray said he ran something of a "stealth campaign" that focused on one-on-one communication with the district's residents.
He said he and four or five campaign volunteers went door-to-door every night for three and a half weeks, adding that he was "pretty confident" they talked to at least one resident or left information about Gray’s campaign at every door in the district.
Preisner told WIBW-TV Channel 13 he was blessed to have represented District 8 and was proud of his service.
He said of Gray, "Congratulations to him and his campaign, and I certainly hope that the process and the fact that he wants to be on the council is everything he wanted."
A combination of door-to-door campaigning and the use of social media helped bring victory for Manspeaker, 33, who won in his first bid for public office.
During his campaign against Swank, 56, Manspeaker became a focus of media reports about profanity he had used in messages sent out over the Twitter social network.
Manspeaker said that while "a lot of folks" would argue that Twitter was his Achilles heel in the campaign, he didn’t see how he could have won without it.
Manspeaker said Twitter proved extremely valuable in terms of making connections.
He also said he was eager to get to work on the council. Council members will be sworn in April 12.
"I look forward to a new Topeka," he said.
Swank told WIBW-TV she had known it was a possibility she would lose and that she "probably needed a little more time” to get her message out.
Swank also said it looked like the city was "going more toward the negative message" and "no one moving forward."
John Alcala relaxes on his front porch as the first election
numbers start to come in Tuesday night. Alcala said
he put a lot of work in reminding people to get out
and vote. (Photo by Anthony S. Bush, Capital-Journal)
Alcala, 51, became the first council member to win election to four terms since Topeka replaced its city commission form of government with a council in 1985.
Aside from Alcala, the only council members to have been elected to three terms were District 7's Gary Fleenor in 1985, 1989, and 1993 and District 1's Duane Pomeroy in 1993, 1997, and 2001.
Prior to Tuesday, Alcala won election to the District 2 seat in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
Alcala said his family members and friends have worked hard to help him in all four of his campaigns.
"It makes me proud for my family that we are a little piece of history," he said.
Alcala said his going door to door was an important part of his campaign.
He said while other candidates have used social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to get their message out, “over in Oakland and North Topeka, my Facebook is when I knock at the door and meet them face to face.”
Alcala praised Kramer, 48, saying she had run a clean campaign.
Everhart, 56, is a private-practice lawyer who served from 1988 to 1994 in the Kansas House.
She said she also spent a lot of time going door to door and was out campaigning almost every day.
Everhart said voters seemed to share her desire to bring improvements to southeast Topeka, particularly its S.E. California Avenue corridor.
"I look forward to starting to work, which I will have to do very quickly, and I feel ready," Everhart said.
Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.