Just in case you missed them in this morning’s print edition, here are a few brainteasers for your Friday evening enjoyment:
1.) And you thought this year’s mayoral race was close? Yes, Democrat Rick Gray won a second term by only 313 votes of the 7,261 cast in the race, or about 4 percentage points. Yes, it was the narrowest margin of victory in a mayoral contest since 1993, when then-Mayor Janice C. Stork fended off Republican Brad S. Fischer by only 255 votes, or 2.2 percentage points. But that’s nothing. The closest race for mayor in Lancaster’s history came in 1898, when Democrat Simon Shissler defeated Republican Samuel Myers. By how many votes did Shissler win?
a. One vote
b. Two votes
c. Five votes
2.) Charlie Smithgall, the Republican who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Gray on Tuesday, had already served two terms as Lancaster mayor, from 1998 through 2005. How many of the city’s 40 mayors since 1818 were elected three or more times?
a. One
b. Three
c. Six
3.) Democrat George Sanderson began a decade-long stint as Lancaster mayor in 1859. How many mayoral elections did he win during that time?
a. None
b. Three
c. Nine
4.) Political analysts predicted that 25 percent of voters would go to the polls in Tuesday’s municipal election. In the race for Lancaster mayor, the most high-profile local race on the ballot, only 7,261, or 19 percent, of the 38,150 city voters cast ballots. Countywide, how many of the 313,654 registered voters went to the polls?
a. 78, 414, or 25 percent
b. 59,820, or 19 percent
c. 43,911, or 14 percent
5.) Smithgall lives on the 500 block of West Lemon Street, in the city’s 9th Ward, 3rd Precinct. Four years ago, he lost to Gray on his home turf by a single vote, 177-176. How did Smithgall fare in his home precinct Tuesday?
a. He beat Gray by a single vote
b. He lost to Gray by 22 votes
c. He tied Gray
6.) Gray lives on the 100 block of North Prince Street, in the city’s 1st Ward. In 2005, Gray beat Smithgall there with 72 percent of the vote. How did the mayor fare on his home turf this year?
a. He won with 51 percent of the vote
b. He lost with only 48 percent
c. He won with 66 percent
7.) The National Rifle Association was supporting Smithgall during the campaign. The group’s lobbying arm reportedly sent a postcard to voters here encouraging them to attend a cannon shoot fundraiser for Smithgall in mid-October. The NRA was targeting Gray because of his membership in Mayors Against Illegal Guns. So how much did the NRA contribute to Smithgall’s campaign, according to his most recent finance report?
a. $1,000
b. $5,000
c. Zero
The answers, after the jump…
The answers: 1.) a. One vote; 2.) c. Six. They are Christian Keiffer of the Whig-American Party, who served from 1852-1854; George Sanderson, a Democrat who served from 1859-1869; John T. MacGonigle, a Democrat who served from 1877-1884; Dr. Dale Cary, a Republican who served from 1938-1950; Thomas J. Monaghan, a Democrat who served from 1958-1962 and 1966-1974; and Arthur E. Morris, a Republican who served from 1980-1990; 3.) c. Nine, a record. But they were all one-year terms. 4.) b. 59,820 or 19 percent; 5.) b. He lost to Gray by 22 votes; 6.) c. Gray won with 66 percent of the vote; 7.) c. Zero.
