Evening star., 1961-11-08
A-VOTE MARGIN
41YoTE MARGIN
Lowry Wins Close One in Arlington
BY JOHN BARRON
Star staff Writer

Star staff Writer
The Arlingtonians for q Bet
ter County, heretofore beset by
bitter dissension. pulled them
selves together at the polls yes
terday to elect Roye Lowry to
the County Board by Al votes
out Of 1885 cast.
According to unofficial tai
lies, the results Of one Of the
closest contests in Arlington
political history were:
Mr.. Lowry, 6,4S7: Republican
Kenneth Ludwig, 6.446; Demo-
crat william Wetmore, 5,709,
and Independent Julius Bren-
ner 1,193. Mr.. Lowry carried II
precincts, Mr.. Ludwig Is and
Mr.. Wetmore Z.
Trying to lead a resurgence
of conservative forces, Mr.. Lud-
wig, who campaigned as q
friend of business. remained q
contender until the final bal
lots were counted. He doubtless
would have won had not Mr..
Brenner deprived him of several
hundred conservative votes.
Hurt by DefectiOnS
Mr.. Wetmore cut deeply into
the normally ABC vote in sew
eral precincts and retained sub
stantial support from Demo-
cratic regulars. But he was hurt
by defections from both the
liberal and conservative wings
of his party.
The ABC victory, which
many of its members did not
expect. was the fifth consecutive
one by the liberal, non-partisan |
coalition and assures its domi-
nation Of the County Board for
anotner year.
1t also places the coalition
firmly in the control of that |
faction which last week end
rallied to defend board member
Herbert Brown in his acrimoni-
Gus fight with his colleague,
Ralph Kaul. who quit the ABC |
and Endorsed Mr.. Wetmore.
Mr.. Lowry declared that the
election constitutes "a real
tribute to the strength of nom
partisan government in Arling-
ton" and shows that the
people refused to be led astray
by phony issues such as secret
meetings"
"VOte of Confidence"
Alan Dean, one of the coal-
tion's leading strategistS, said
that in addition to being a per-
sonal triumph for Mr.. Lowry.
the elections represent "a vote
of confidence in the ABC board
members. including Herb
Brown. whom we regard as
ABC in spirit and who also
supported Roye Lowry"
Mr.. Ludwig congratulated
Mr.. Lowry as we'll as the other
candidates, but withheld for
NAL concession pending exam
ination Of the possibility Of a
recount.
I'VE will certainly check into
1t. I don't know what the
merits of it will be or under
what circumstances it can be
done" he said.
Arlington uses voting ma
chimes. making grounds for a
recount more difficult to find
than they would be if paper
ballots were used.
In his statement, Mr.. Ludwig
thanked his supporters and
added: The extreme cloSeness
of the vote proves the enthusi-
asm Of my workers and the
public interest in the issues we
developed. 1t is my earnest
hope that the focus on these
issues will benefit county gov
ernment in years to come"
"A Real Good Try"
Mr.. Wetmore said: I'VE gave
it a real good try and the vot-
ers who stayed home decided
the election. I wish Roye Lowry
the very best and I hope that
all members of the County Board
will work together for a better
county"
ABC leaders had been ex-
tremely apprehensive about the
election because of the internal
fighting which had cost the
coalition Mr.. Brown and Mr..
Kaul, and left it with only two
representatives on the board. |
Chairman Leo Urbanske and
Thomas Richards. /
They also feared that Mr..
Wetmore's candidacy would
cause a split in the non-con-
kervative vote which would be
disastrous to them.
Mr.. Lowry, who will succeed
Mr.. Brown January /, heartily
embraced the philosophy of
local government of Mr.. Brown,
Mr.. Urbanske and Mr.. Richards
during the campaign. He thus
probably will be able to work
harmoniously with the latter
two as we'll as with Independent
Ernest Wilt.