Democrats are still reveling in this week's Wake County school board election results.

One example, as noted in today's Under the Dome column, came during Thursday's lunch for Lillian's List of North Carolina, a group which helps elect pro-choice Democratic women.

Perhaps the loudest cheers of the meal came when the group's chairwoman, Rachel Hunt Nilender, daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt, mentioned the victories by Democrats in the Wake County school board elections Tuesday.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt is calling registered Democrats in Wake County to urge them to vote for the party's endorsed school board candidates on Tuesday.

Here's the text of the robocall:

Hunt: "This is Gov. Jim Hunt. I'm calling to urge you vote in the upcoming school board election. I spent most of my life working to improve K-12 public education and I know how vital our schools are to our economy and the future of Wake County.

Wake County has built a nationally recognized school system over the years. But strong and visionary leaders are particularly needed now. Please be sure to cast your vote for a strong school board leader on Oct. 11th."

Narrator: "Paid for by the Wake County Democratic Party."

Businessmen Art Pope and Jim Goodmon are out in the financial forefront when it comes to backing candidates for Wake County Board of Commissioners.

As noted in today's article, the latest round of campaign reports show that  Pope and his family have given at least $32,000 to Republican candidates for commissioner. Campaign reports also show that Goodmon and his wife have given at least $13,000 to Democratic candidates for commissioner.

“It’s a contributor referendum on the school board,” said Democratic candidate Jack Nichols.

Wake County Democratic Party Chairman Mack Paul is laying out principles for the school system and why he feels they're better than the Republicans when it comes to education.

In an op-ed piece today, Paul writes that "support for schools should not be a partisan issue." But he goes on to say that the Democratic Party "stands out in its support of public education" as he cites a timeline of local and state leaders such as Terry Sanford, Jim Hunt and Vernon Malone.

Paul writes that the Democratic Party will uphold two fundamental principles as the assignment issue unfolds in the Wake County school system.

One of the regular features of the annual Emerging Issues forum is small panels of local innovators along with the featured big-name celebrities.  

This morning's panel featured an Asheville council woman, a Wilmington film festival director, a Charlotte inventor and the president of a community college. The foursome riffed on creativity, innovation and the human potential in an informal setting.

Some are still digesting the idea that business can be creative.

"I have mixed feelings about our mojo being stolen by the business types,"  said Dan Brawley, director of the Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington. "The good thing is that it promises the end of the mythology of the artist that's wrong."

That mythology is that the artist is a misfit who is forced into an art career because he or she couldn't cut it in the business world, Brawley said.

How soon do you think the New York Times will do another story about Wake's academic results?

As noted in today's article, things have changed since the Sept. 2005 Sunday front-page Times article on Wake. Tougher math and reading EOG exams have lowered Wake's passing rate from 90.4 percent in 2005 to 70.8 percent this year.

That article, along with the ensuing coverage in other publications, helped boost Wake's national reputation. Wake school and community leaders would often argue that Wake is one of the best school systems in the nation.

An astute political friend once observed that North Carolinians were a bit schizofrenic when it comes to elections. What voter, she asked, would vote for Jesse Helms for U.S. Senator and Jim Hunt for Governor in the same election?

It's an interesting question to ask in Wendell these days, in light of the town board's decision to appoint both Lisa Sanderson and Charlie Kramer to the Planning Board.

Sanderson and her husband, Steve, have led an effort to remake Wendell Boulevard, a move that struck a nerve with some of the more conservative folks in town. Lisa Sanderson, daughter of former Mayor June Perry, is smart as a whip and always does her homework before she opens her mouth.

Kramer has been the silent giant behind the Wendell Community Coalition. He's an astute researcher who's inclined to follow a leave-it-alone course of action. Commissioners may have believed Kramer was the lesser of two evils in having to choose between him and Dan Edwards, the much more vocal opponent of developments like Pepper Pointe. But they have appointed a big dog to the board.

Sanderson and Kramer ought to be wonderful foils.