Submitted by correspondent Virginia Bridges

County Commissioner Joe Bowser resigned his seat today after losing a bid for re-election.

Bowser (right) finished seventh in the 14-person race for five seats on the county board.

"Effective today May 9, 2012, I will resign my seat on the Durham County Board of Commissioners. There are some big decisions this board will be making soon, and I feel it would be better for a member who will continue beyond this year to assist in making those decisions," Bowser wrote in an email to County Manager Mike Ruffin and his fellow commissioners.
 
"I have enjoyed my tenure on the board and wish my fellow board members the best!" Bowser said.

"Commissioner Bowser has provided significant years of service to Durham County Government and we are grateful for his work," said Board Chairman Michael Page in a county statement announcing Bowser's resignation.

"He has been engaged in numerous boards and commissions and has worked diligently to improve the quality of life for the citizens in this community," Page said.  "We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Bowser was first elected to the board in 1996 and held the office until losing a re-election campaign in 2004. He won back his seat in 2008.

He is the second county commissioner to leave the board in less than a year. Last July, Commissioner Becky Heron resigned for reasons of health.

The four remaining commissioners will discuss replacing Bowser at their regular meeting Monday night.
 
The top five vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary were incumbents Page, Ellen Reckhow and Brenda Howerton, along with Durham NAACP branch President Fred Foster Jr. and environmental consultant Wendy Jacobs.

Bowser finished with 17,098 votes, 268 behind sixth-place contender Will Wilson, a Duke University biologist, according to unofficial results.
 

On the eve of Tuesday's elections, county commissioner candidate Steve Hopkins fired a verbal broadside at the People's Alliance and Commissioner Ellen Reckhow.

Accusing the PA of "Tea Party-like tactics," Hopkins accused the liberal political-action group of making race an issue in the commissioners race and making "wild accusations" about incumbent commissioners Joe Bowser, Brenda Howerton and Michael Page.

Travis Phelps of Durham, 22, has won the Friends of Durham endorsement in the Democratic primary for state House District 50. One of the county's three major political-action committees, the Friends chose Phelps, an employee at Reckless Paints & Accessories, over Orange County Commissioner Valerie Foushee.

In the Republican primary, the Friends endorsed Efland banker W. Lewis Hannah over three rivals: Jason Chambers of Bahama, Rod Chaney of Hillsborough and Thomas Samuel Wright of Mebane.

House District 50, reconfigured in the 2011 redistricting, covers most of Orange County and northern and eastern regions of Durham County.

County Commissioner candidate Anita Daniels (right) said today that she has been endorsed by former Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill and incumbent Register of Deeds Willie Covington.

"I am honored to receive the support of two of Durham's most effective leaders who were elected by the citizens of Durham to serve multiple terms," Daniels said in a prepared statement.

Daniels has also been endorsed by the Friends of Durham, one of the county's three major political-action groups.

A social worker, Daniels applied to serve out the term of retired Commissioner Becky Heron in 2011. The four remaining commissioners instead chose Pam Karriker to take Heron's seat. Karriker is not running for election this year.
 

State Senate candidate Mike Woodard is tardy with some financial paperwork. His campaign organization has yet to file an organizational report with the state Board of Elections that was due two months ago.

Amy Strange, campaign finance compliance specialist with the state Board, said  Monday that her office had attempted to contact Woodard's campaign and had no response.

Woodard said he received a written notice about the missing report last Friday. The notice gave him 30 days to comply, he said.

So far, Southern Durham Development has spent $54,000 to promote four county commissioner candidates through the Durham Partnership for Progress Super PAC.

Partnership for Progress is backing incumbent Commissioners Joe Bowser, Brenda Howerton and Michael Page for re-election, and candidate Rickey Padgett. The four support Southern Durham's proposed 751 South subdivision in southern Durham.

According to a PAC report filed today with the Durham County Board of Elections, the company donated $50,000 for services from Nexus Strategies, a Raleigh political consulting firm, and $1,500 for The Marketing Department, a Raleigh online advertising firm.

Previously, Durham Partnership for Progress reported receiving $2,600 from Southern Durham Development, $2,500 of which went for services by a Raleigh opinion-polling company.

Partnership for Progress has also opened a Web site, http://bit.ly/J54Ba0. According to the site, the Super PAC "intends to be active in the years to come."

The glossy, full-color political flier appearing in Durham mailboxes this week brings local politics into the "Super PAC" era on behalf of the controversial 751 South subdivision project.

The flier endorses incumbent county commissioners Joe Bowser, Brenda Howerton and Michael Page, and aspiring commissioner Rickey Padgett in the May 8 primary election. All four support the 1,300-home mixed-use project in southwest Durham County.

The Durham County Republican Party is in favor of the proposed "marriage amendment" to the North Carolina constitution, which goes to voters in the May 8 primary election.

In a resolution sent today to the Durham County Board of Commissioners and the Durham City Council, the party announced its support for Amendment 1, which specifics that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be recognized or valid in this State."

Among their reasons for supporting the amendment, the resolution states that it:

• "Does not diminish the existing rights and liberties of North Carolinians";
• "Does not limit the rights of private citizens to contract";
• "Protects us from fundamental change in our law by the judiciary or the legislature without a vote of the people";
• "Can be changed by the citizens of North Carolina in the future."

The resolution also states "the traditional institution of marriage is a bulwark for liberty and the common good"; and makes several references to a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling interpreting that state's constitution to permit same-sex marriage and the Massachusetts legislature's refusal to put the question to a popular vote.

Durham Republicans approved the resolution at its March party convention.

Prospective developers of the controversial 751 South subdivision have created a political action committee of their own in time for the county commissioner elections.

On Friday, The Durham Partnership for Progress registered with the Durham County Board of Elections as an "independent expenditure political committee."

Treasurer is Rhonda Hall Sisk of 9222 N.C. 751, a residence owned by Southern Durham Development at the 751 South site that is also the company's registered office. Assistant treasurer is Tyler Morris, a partner in Southern Durham Development.

The filing forms list a $100 cash donation from Southern Durham Development as well as the company's in-kind contribution of $2,500 for services of Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh survey and robocall company.

In a formal statement, Southern Durham President Alex Mitchell said the PAC will make candidate endorsements "in the near future."

Three incumbent county commissioners running for re-election have been strong 751 South supporters and have said during the campaign that they would continue that support: Joe Bowser, Brenda Howerton and Michael Page. Candidate Rickey Padgett has said he supports the project "100 percent."

Mitchell's statement described the Partnership for Progress's purpose: "to foster a political environment in Durham that encourages equal opportunity, job creation, smart growth, new business and industry, affordable housing and education while protecting property rights."

It also alluded to "an alternate political action committee" that has made opposition to 751 South "their primary election issue." The Durham People's Alliance endorsed four candidates who oppose the project – Fred Foster Jr., Wendy Jacobs, Will Wilson and incumbent Ellen Reckhow" and listed candidates' positions on the project among the factors considered in making the PA's endorsements – along with "tax fairness, remedies for homelessness ... responsible government and the Constitutional Amendment."