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Hartzell holds off Hearn in Ashland vote By John Darling ASHLAND � After 12 days of ballot counting, Cate Hartzell has won a seesaw race for Ashland City Council, defeating Planning Commissioner Chris Hearn. At the close of business Friday, the Jackson County Elections Office tally was 4,792 (50.11 percent) for Hartzell, 4,724 (49.40 percent) for Hearn, with 8 or 10 machine-rejected ballots to be "enhanced" and tallied today, said elections deputy Donna Connor. The remaining ballots cannot change the outcome. Write-in candidates got 36 votes, and there were 1,567 under-votes (no vote cast in the race). The county still must double-check its work and has until Nov. 27 to issue an official tally. "I'm thrilled," said Hartzell, who won a seat in her second race for the council. "I can't wait to get started." Hartzell listed affordable housing, traffic safety, exploring an alternative site for the public library, guarding against fire and erosion in the Ashland watershed and involving the public in the budget process as being among her goals. The race pitted community activist Hartzell against Hearn, a land-use lawyer allied with the business community. Hartzell said her support came from low- and moderate-income residents and long-term residents concerned about rapid growth. Both candidates emphasized retaining Ashland's unique quality of life through moderated growth. Hearn may run for Mayor-elect Alan DeBoer's seat on the Ashland School Board next spring and is considering another run for the City Council in two years, he said. "It's disappointing to work so hard for something," he said, "and miss it by so little. But I will do everything I can to support Cate. I think people felt she'd been involved longer, paid her dues and it was her turn and perhaps I should try again in a few years." Hartzell, 44, directs the Collaborative Learning Circle, a network of non-profit organizations concerned with forestry and economic development and operating under Headwaters. She has been on the City budget committee for six years. On the voter-approved library expansion, Hartzell said she plans to work for a "constructive, creative compromise" that will carry out the will of the people, keep the library close to the town center and resolve growing concerns about parking, traffic, access and "adequate size" at the present Siskiyou Boulevard site. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.