Bell decisively wins Durham mayor's race

Nov. 8 - Mayor Bill Bell handily defeated challenger Thomas Stith III on Tuesday, fending off a well-funded opponent who has been on the offensive for more than a month. Bell won a fourth term by capturing 58 percent of the nearly 32,000 votes cast, to Stith's 42 percent. | MORE

Bell for Mayor

Nov. 1 - BILL BELL, 66, is seeking his fourth, two-year term as mayor, but his experience in government runs quite a bit deeper than that. He was a member or chairman of the county Board of Commissioners for nearly 30 years. He has been a leader on regional transportation issues. He works well with neighboring communities and knows the value of regional cooperation. | MORE

Obama endorses Durham Mayor Bill Bell

Nov. 1 - Presidential candidate Barack Obama has given his support to Mayor Bill Bell, a high-profile endorsement that could be a factor in Tuesday's face-off between Bell and challenger Thomas Stith III. The news came the same day it was announced Bell had endorsed Obama for president. "Barack Obama believes Mayor Bell has served Durham well, and he is encouraging Durham residents to turn out to the polls for him next week," said Obama representative Ben Labolt. | MORE

In mayor's race, Bell deserves nod

Oct. 28 - The revitalization of downtown is one of the best things to hit Durham in years, and it has happened on Bell's watch. While he can't take all the credit, he certainly deserves some of it. Bell helped negotiate the public funding of parking lots that enabled American Tobacco, the linchpin of the redevelopment, to move forward. And he took a central role in the complex negotiations that led to the Performing Arts Theater now under construction on Mangum Street. We also want to see Bell have the chance to push revitalization to areas around downtown. Development is moving into the Hayti area, and Rolling Hills may be next. Bell has a good working relationship with developers who could help inject new vitality into some of the city's depressed areas. | MORE

Incumbent Bell faces toughest test in a decade

Oct. 27 - Bill Bell's name has become synonymous with Durham politics. Funny, then, that he had designs on neither Durham nor politics when he arrived here in 1968. "I came here with the intention of making my career with IBM, moving up and possibly moving out, because with IBM you knew you were always going to be moving," said Bell, 66. | MORE

Uniting to fight NC gang violence

Oct. 26 - Three North Carolina mayors are leading the state’s effort to stop gang activity, as Durham, Burlington and Salisbury’s mayors have been appointed to help get anti-gang legislation passed. Bell said police enforcement is only one-third of the solution. “Really I'm trying to find more dollars for intervention and prevention because I think that goes a long way in the issue of gangs,” he said. | MORE

The war of the words continues

Oct. 25 - Mayoral candidates Bill Bell and Thomas Stith continued their war of words Wednesday, with Bell telling reporters his challenger can't work with the City Council and Stith answering that the incumbent's politics are going out of style. Bell's share of the exchange continued an effort he launched Tuesday during a forum at Duke University to portray Stith as a do-nothing councilman whose campaign tactics are damaging the city's image. | MORE

New boss, same as the old boss

Oct. 24 - But as the Independent reported in October, Stith hardly has the record to back up his grandstanding. Stith has been the least involved in council committees. Since the last election, he has missed more meetings that any council member. And he is often on the losing end of council votes—the lone dissenter. The mayor leads the council meetings but has no more power than other council members; the city cannot afford to have a mayor who doesn't share the burden, or one who leads from the political minority. We endorse Bill Bell. | MORE

Durham Committee backs Bell for mayor, Ali for councilman

Oct. 21 - Mayor Bill Bell on Saturday received the endorsement of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People in his re-election bid. And the Durham Committee -- the city's oldest black political action group -- on Saturday reaffirmed its earlier backing of City Council candidate Farad Ali. Ali and Bell were unanimously chosen for support, said Lavonia Allison, the Durham Committee chairwoman. The committee declined to endorse any other council candidates. Voters on Nov. 6 will choose a mayor and three council members. | MORE

Mayor opens campaign office

Oct. 18 - Saying he considered it "the real start" of his re-election bid, incumbent mayoral candidate Bill Bell opened his campaign headquarters Wednesday in a part of the Hayti area that could one day become a symbol of the city's revitalization. Saying he considered it "the real start" of his re-election bid, incumbent mayoral candidate Bill Bell opened his campaign headquarters Wednesday in a part of the Hayti area that could one day become a symbol of the city's revitalization. | MORE

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