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City Council Incumbents Hold Ground In Democratic Primary

With no Republicans on the ballot, all five Democratic incumbents should keep their City Council seats another four years.

District 1 Councilwoman Darlene Harris, 62, of Spring Hill beat out challengers Bobby Wilson, 32, of Spring Hill and Randy Zotter, 65, of Central North Side. Harris received nearly 47 percent of the vote, while Wilson received about 33 percent.

Harris said her campaign was successful because she's in-touch with the neighborhoods she represents.

"They believe in me because I've been there for their neighborhoods," she said from a victory party in Riverview Park. "I want to thank them so much for giving me this term and the next four years; we'll be working together."

Councilman Bruce Kraus, 61, of South Side ran unopposed in District 3.

District 5 Councilman Corey O'Connor, 30, of Swisshelm Park won a majority over Kimberly Kaplan, 24, of Squirrel Hill. O'Connor received 3,724 votes to Kaplan's 627.

O'Connor said he's looking forward to continued collaboration with other council members.

"We, over the last four years, were able to build great coalitions to get things done, not just for the district, but for the city," he said. "And, as we continue to grow, that's the type of leader that I want to become - somebody that can work with everybody and not just look within the district, but look at the city as a whole and continue to grow it."

Deb Gross, 48, of Highland Park swayed District 7 voters over La'Tasha D. Mayes, 34, of Morningside. Gross received about 64 percent of the vote.

Having replaced former City Councilman Patrick Dowd in a 2013 special election, Gross said she is excited to serve a full, four-year term.

"People are reinvesting in the city. We have a lot of new, youthful energy and we have an opportunity to really engage everybody and be inclusive and kind of community-led development," she said. "I'm really looking forward to working on that."

District 9 Councilman Ricky Burgess, 58, of North Point Breeze won the District 9 primary over a wide field: former Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle, 56, of East Hills; Judith K. Ginyard, 56, of North Point Breeze; and Andre Young, 62, of Stanton Heights.

Burgess received about 45 percent of the vote followed by Young who received nearly 27 percent. Ginyard got 18 percent, while Carlisle got less than 10 percent.