Kirk gets free pass to second term

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 | 9:21 a.m.

Henderson Councilman Steve Kirk raised roughly $160,000 and spent around $50,000 preparing for what he thought could be a tough re-election campaign.

Instead the councilman has a free pass to a second term.

Kirk was the only one to file for the city's Ward 4 council seat, which means he is automatically re-elected. Kirk's name will not appear on the primary or general election ballots.

"I had kind of started raising money in the fall. You've got to run like you have an opponent," Kirk said. "Then all of a sudden, much to my delight, I had no opponent."

By the candidate filing deadline Kirk had already begun spending as if he might face a strong opponent. He hired a campaign consultant, bought $10,000 worth of campaign signs and spent $15,000 on campaign T-shirts. Kirk estimated he may have needed $300,000 to wage a winning campaign against a well-funded opponent.

Kirk said he will probably save his unspent campaign money for his next election.

Until then, Kirk said, he plans to focus on downtown redevelopment and improving and adding to the city's parks and recreation facilities.

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