Village voters put incumbents back in office for another term
By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on November 7, 2007 1:46 PM
With six people vying for the three open seats on the Village of Walnut Creek Village Council, the two incumbents were pleased Tuesday night to see their names come out on top.
"I'm glad that I was elected, and I look forward to serving for another four years," incumbent Danny Jackson said. "I felt like if the people wanted me, they'd vote for me. If not, they'd vote for somebody else."
Both Jackson, 47, and Tom Shaw, 60, were re-elected to four-year terms. Shaw received 149 votes (22.21 percent) and Jackson received 120 votes (17.88 percent).
They will be joined by Greg Ricker, 44, who received 114 votes (16.99 percent).
"I'm pleased with the way things turned out," Ricker said.
Running for the council for the second time -- he lost in 2005 -- Ricker said he cast his own ballot at about 7:45 a.m., Tuesday, before heading to work for what was mostly a "normal day."
Now, though, he is ready to get down to business.
"I think we've got a full plate," he said.
The next step for him, he continued, will be to make sure he is up to speed on everything going on inside the village. He explained that he will spend the next few days and weeks reviewing ordinances and policies and procedures to make sure he can be a productive member of the council.
"I'll spend some time with (village administrator) Lou Cook, getting myself educated," Ricker said.
Among the issues that will be facing the village council are traffic counts, growth and the continuing drought.
Shaw also said the village will continue to work on water and sewer and the new recreation facilities such as the playground and hiking trails -- an opportunity he welcomes.
"I'm very proud to have won that many voters," he said. "That's really an honor to have the people put that trust in me like that, and I'll do the best I can to serve them for the next four years."
Coming in behind the three front-runners were Dave Colburn with 100 votes (14.90 percent) and Jeffrey Wharton with 85 votes (12.67 percent). Write-in candidate Willis Underwood also garnered 96 votes (14.30 percent).
Colburn and Wharton could not be reached for comment Tuesday night, but Underwood said he was OK with the results -- especially considering he didn't decide to campaign as a write-in until shortly before Election Day.
"I would have liked to have gotten on there, but I did pretty good," he said, adding that he still plans to be an active resident.
"We've got a very fine village and I'm very involved in the community," Underwood said. "I'd just like to thank everybody who supported me."
The newly elected trio will be sworn in and a new mayor picked on Nov. 16 at 9 a.m.