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Ashland Council awaits count By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Candidates said early election results for two City Council races were too close to make any predictions Tuesday evening. As of 11 p.m., the Jackson County Elections Office had tallied just over 1,800 votes in the Ashland races. In the campaign for council seat No. 3, Chris Hearn held about a 10 percent lead over opponent Cate Hartzell. Hearn had secured 891 votes to Hartzell�s 704. The bid for council seat No. 5 was running even closer. John Morrison, with 739 votes, held a slight early lead over Mike Gibbs, who had received 666. Hearn, attending an election party at a friend�s house, was optimistic but hesitant to claim victory based on his early lead. "It ain�t over till it�s over, right?" he said. Hearn said he was prepared for the election to go either way. He thanked his supporters and said he enjoyed the campaign process. "I feel good," he said. "It�s just fun to have everybody together." Gibbs, who spent the evening home with his family, also said Tuesday�s results were too premature to make any predictions. "I�ll go to bed tonight kind of like Truman did behind Dewey and maybe I�ll wake up and win," he said, referring to the 1948 presidential turnabout. "It�s just a wait-and-see," Gibbs said. Hartzell and Morrison could not be reached for comment. Running unopposed, Don Laws was re-elected to council seat No. 1. Laws, a political science professor at Southern Oregon University, has served on the council almost continuously since 1975. Two positions on the Parks and Recreation Commission were also unchallenged. Commissioner Joanne Eggers was reelected to seat No. 1. Jim Lewis, who has served 15 years on the Ashland Historic Commission, will fill seat No. 2. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.