Coulter Wins Mayor's Seat; Martin, Lennon Win Council

10:15 p.m.: Dave Coulter wins mayor's seat. Dan Martin and Mike Lennon take the council seats.

9 p.m.: The votes are being tabulated at City Hall, but the early numbers from all precincts are below. Absentee ballots have yet to be tallied. There are 510 absentee ballots to be counted still. 

Mayoral race:

113

 City Council race:

Precinct 9 (Curling Club)

8 p.m.: The polls are closed. Were you able to vote? I hope so.

7:45 p.m.: Reports from the precincts are that voter turnout is low. As of 7:30 p.m., only 130 voters passed through Precinct 1. There's not much going on. It's pretty quiet and low-key. 

3 p.m.-5 p.m.: Notes from the field:

Precinct 1 (Harding Administration Center): Candidate Sherry Wells was campaigning outside of Precinct 1.

"I'm really disappointed with voter turnout," she said. "We knocked on every door on the east side, and people were thrilled to see a candidate out there. But no matter how thrilled you are, if you don't get out to vote, you get ignored."

Precinct 6 (Autumn House): Former Ferndale Mayor Bob Porter was working Precinct 6. He gave Ferndale Patch a prediction: "I predict that two people will win seats on council."

There you have it, folks.

Precinct 5 (Taft Education Center): Paul Hemmond has been a resident in Ferndale for 16 years. He didn't disclose whom he voted for but said: "I want an engaged candidate with an open mind and a good, strong business sense. This day and age, you have to run a city like a business."

Hemmond said he's been pleased with the direction of the current council. "I'm please with the momentum and pleased with the direction it's going," he said.

Andreana Wilson is new to Ferndale. She just moved here a year ago and said she voted for Dave Coulter. "I saw what he did during the power outage, and it's good for the city," she said.

Wilson said she votes for candidates who want to help the city and its residents — though one could argue each candidate will say that's what he or she does.

At 3:45 p.m., there were 124 voters through Taft.

Precinct 4 (Gerry Kulick Community Center): "I voted for (Dave) Coulter because I like his progressive ideas and vision for the city," said Joe Spain, standing in front of the Gerry Kulick Community Center.

Spain has been a resident for 2½ years. At 3 p.m., 157 voters passed through the doors of the community center.

"I like Coulter's dedication to business attraction to the city and support for community diversity as well," he said.

Spain didn't for Sherry Wells.

"I didn't vote for Ms. Wells because I felt she was a one-issue candidate and would hold up the city's progress," he said. ". She just had that one topic in mind."

Wells was the resident who spearheaded a noise campaign that resulted in the city lowering the noise levels allowed by ordinance downtown by 5 decibels.

Spain said he wants someone who understands the city and has a new way of thinking. "What we did yesterday isn't going to work tomorrow," he said. "We have to think outside the box."

Precinct 2 (Roosevelt Primary School): At 3 p.m., there had been 158 voters. For the 2008 presidential election, 1,129 voters came through the door to vote. Precinct 2 is, historically, the busiest precinct.

We spoke with Don (who wouldn't give his last name) about how he voted. "I voted for Coulter, and I didn't vote for Lennon," he said, adding: "I think the mayor is doing a great job."

The 22-year resident said it was difficult for him to find the parties that each of the candidates were affiliated with — local elections, however, are nonpartisan. I told him that. "I still want to know what party they support," he said.

He said he voted for Dan Martin and Sherry Wells based in part on endorsements they received from the Sierra Club. He added that the work Martin did with FernCare was also a deciding factor.

"I'm looking for a progressive candidate that believes in moving forward," he said. "The downtown is so much different than it was 20 years ago. The city has done a wonderful job of building it up."

He said he'd like to see the "quarter-only" parking meters go away, DTE Energy to upgrade its infrastructure ("Maybe there is a way for the city to enforce that," he said), and he would like to see an "art in the park" event.

7 a.m.-10 a.m.: Notes from the field:

Precinct 6 (Autumn House): At the Autumn House, 500 E. Nine Mile Rd., around 7:30 a.m., Tim Lennon was out campaigning for his brother, . He said he would be out until 9 a.m. before heading back to work.

Politics run deep in the Lennon tribe. The Lennon patriarch, Bernie, was mayor from 1979 to '84 and councilman from '88 to '90. Brother David was elected to Ferndale's council in 2002. David died in a car crash in 2003, cutting the term short. Mike Lennon would be appointed to David's seat, finishing out the term. And he has been on council ever since.

"We're a very political family," Tim Lennon said. "It's pretty cool."

Precinct 3 (Ferndale High School): At about 8 a.m., the had 14 voters. In front of the school (and 100 feet away) Helen Weber and Steve Kuzmanovich were campaigning for their respective candidates.

At that early hour, the turnout wasn't anything shocking to Weber, who was holding a "" sign. "It's what I expected for this election," she said. "When there is a vote for presidents, people come out."

Kuzmanovich was out campaigning for incumbent Lennon.

Precinct 4 (Gerry Kulick Community Center): The was hopping! Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter, who is campaigning to keep his seat, was standing in front of the community center.

"I love Election Day, standing outside of the polls," Coulter said as a light drizzle started to come down. "There's a lot of nervous energy on Election Day. But I didn't the work and hope it pays off."

Coulter is campaigning against newcomer . Willis has ran a quiet campaign with no literature dispersed or campaigners present.

"I've sent out mailers, gone door-to-door, I never take an election for granted," Coulter said. "The first election I did for county commissioner I won because the opponent (incumbent Ruel McPherson) took it for granted. Anything can happen in politics."

Coulter said his routine on Election Day, and he's been through a few, is lots of coffee.

Dave Cottrill, city campaign manager for council candidate , was campaigning for his candidate next to Coulter, in front of the Kulick Center. "My day is here," he said. "Sherry is going down to different precincts, talking to different people at the precincts."

Cottrill said he expects a tight three-way race.

"We are people who are going to listen," Cottrill said. "We've been going to the Watchdog meetings and that was 48 percent of the vote in the (May 3) election."

Cottrill said, as he sees it, issues that concern the -- a residents' group formed to hold local government accountable, it says, and consists of leaders from the May 3 "no" election campaign that passed by 197 votes -- are making sure government spends wisely and that spending procedures are effective. We'll see if the Watchdog vote comes out in support of Wells.

Jeannie Davis, campaign manager for Dan Martin, was standing close by.

I asked the question: In an election where the candidates seem to agree on nearly every issue -- moving mass transit forward in Ferndale, improving downtown, improving neighborhoods, being fiscally responsible -- who does each candidate set themselves apart.

"It's about methodology, I think," Davis said.

"Sherry is very thorough," Cottrill said.

"Dan is very good at getting people to, and this is a cliché, to reach across the isle," Davis added.

"Sherry is a voice that listens," Cottrill said. "We knocked on every door on the east side."

Suzy McCleary was campaigning for Lennon at the Kulick Center as well.

There were 36 voters at the Kulick by 9 a.m.

Precinct 5 (): There were three campaigners at precinct 5. Janet Narich was campaigning for Wells, Dennis Hoeppner was campaigning for Lennon and Martin for city council and Coulter for mayor, and Ron Gilmour were campaigning for Lennon as well.

"Sherry is a very active person in the community and committed to improve it," Narich said. "She listens to the concerns of the residents."

"Lennon has been on council for a long time and knows it very well. Martin is very intelligent and coulter is the greatest person for the job," Hoeppner said.

Gilmour said he was out in support of Lennon because of Lennon's responsible spending and support of Ferndale's first responders.

Twenty-five voters passed through precinct 5 by 9 a.m.

Precinct 2 (Roosevelt Primary School): School was out for Election Day and that building isn't nearly as lively when the kids aren't there. Yet, as Ferndale's busiest voting precinct, life was still running through the building.

By 10 a.m., 65 people had voted at .

We caught up with George Canning shortly after he voted. He didn't want to tell us who he voted for but said that voting is the "best thing we got in shaping our government."

However, he did discuss what he looks for in a candidate.

"Transparency and that they do what they say, say what they mean and mean what they say," he said.

Before leaving Roosevelt, Ferndale Deputy City Clerk Marne McGrath was onsite.

"Everything is running really smooth," she said.

7 a.m.: Polls open on this wet, 50-degree Tuesday. It's not as rainy as it was on .