The Charles Lewis headquarters is hopping on Killingsworth. There’s a nice mix of music playing (something you’d expect from a board member of Ethos, a music academy for underprivileged youth) and there are hot dogs and hamburgers for all. Strangely everyone is watching Dancing With the Stars, waiting for the second most important vote of the night.

Charles is currently in line to go into a run-off with Amanda Fritz, “We are exactly where we knew we would be… In second place.” (And only one point ahead of candidates John Branam and Jeff Bissonette.)

He feels that in this six person race, much of his base was shared with competitors like Mike Fahey. The hope here is that he’ll be able to draw from that considerable voting pool when the race is narrowed to two. A new round of public funding should boost his campaign. Is there a chance that he’ll be filling more pot-holes in the future?
“It is quite possible.”

But right now the beer and wine are flowing and everyone seems pretty happy with the margins, as long as Fritz’s percentage does not manage to creep up past fifty percent. It doesn’t seem likely at the moment, but the night is still young.

Here’s an aside. I’ve been shadowed all night by rival press members. I’m not sure where they are from, but I don’t trust ‘em. If I get enough free booze in me tonight there may be a media rumble.

Before I leave, I’ll need to ask one more burning question: Why didn’t Charles hire me as a tour guide for his amphibious Portland Duck tours (which he’s sold recently to folks in Texas)? Was it the facial hair? The fear that I’d scare the “normals?” I want to get to the bottom of this, and I will. Besides, come November, if he gets into a run-off, he’ll need every vote he can get, including mine.