Businessman wins Dallas mayor's race (Is picture PhotoShop'd?)

Ft Worth Star Telegram ^ | 06/17/2007 | JEFF CARLTON

[devane617]

DALLAS -- In the most expensive mayoral race in Dallas history, wealthy retired businessman Tom Leppert was elected Dallas mayor by a sound margin in Saturday's runoff election to lead the nation's ninth-largest city.

Voters chose Leppert -- an admitted outsider to Dallas politics -- over openly gay City Councilman Ed Oakley, a political insider.

Capping a swift rise from political unknown to the city's top office, Leppert received about 58 percent of the vote in complete but unofficial results in the runoff, winning by more than 13,000 votes.

"I understand the trust and confidence they've placed in me," said Leppert, 53. "I am eager to fulfill that trust and confidence."

Oakley, a three-time city councilman, fell short of making Dallas the largest city in the country to elect an openly gay mayor.

"I can't tell you what it's been like ... to serve Dallas, change Dallas and put Dallas on a path of greatness," said Oakley, who received 42 percent of the vote. "I truly believe I've been part of that."

Leppert, the former chief executive of construction giant Turner Corp., had never run for elected office and never voted in a Dallas mayoral election until this year.

He acknowledges that he had scant name recognition when he decided last year to enter the race to replace Mayor Laura Miller, who was not seeking re-election.

The runoff ends the most expensive political race in Dallas history. Oakley and Leppert were the top fundraisers before the May 12 election.

Oakley had raised about $685,000 from early May to early June. Leppert raised $855,000 and spent about $1.1 million in that period, compared with about $833,000 for Oakley.

[devane617]

The above picture appears to be touched-up. Something looks wrong.

[Junior_G]

The hair was digitally added. The real Tom Leppert is bald.

Oh, the eyes were added digitally as well. The real Tom Leppert has no eyes.

[sam_paine]

Something looks wrong.

Why? Is his skin-tone too white for Dallas Mayor?

[BigFinn]

Hal Bop.

[_Jim]

Did you scan that from the paper this morning?

The color IS off.

[devane617]

The eyes look edited to me. No big woop if the photo was shop’d, just looks curious and plastic to me.

[devane617]

No it is the picture from the website...no scanning, straight off their site.

[K-oneTexas]

Kinda looks like Robert Lansing, a TV and movie actor from from the 50’s to the 90’s.

[Neu Pragmatist]

He sort of looks like John Kerry minus the hair cut .

[_Jim]

Whomever posted/selected that pix on the staff of the Startlegram should be FIRED.

*I* (and I am slightly colorblind REd/Green) can do better color correction than that!

[usmcobra]

There’s a dead squirrel on his head.

[Vision Thing]

Anyone know if he is Republican? He’s rich, but nowadays, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s Republican.

[BGHater]

The problem is that it was a small photo of him via a jpg or gif and it was enlarged so the pixels are blurred throwing off a normal view of him.

[Kaslin]

It looks like the image was copied and pasted into the bg. Notice the zagged line on the right.

[devane617]

He looks like an alien from a 70’s-80’s TV sci-fi show. It is really an odd picture.

[armymarinemom]

The Boy with Green Hair all grown up?

[CindyDawg]

It’s the eyes. The blue is an unusual shade. Maybe the lights.

[Nam Vet]

What a crappy report! The reader has absolutely NO idea of either candidate's political stands, nor the major 'bones of contention' in the race. We might hazard a guess though because one candidate is a Rump Ranger.

Nam Vet

[Popman]

Oakley, a three-time city councilman, fell short of making Dallas the largest city in the country to elect an openly gay mayor................... who received 42 percent of the vote.

Whoa, I lived in Dallas about 20 years ago for 11 years.

I can guarantee you that when I lived there, no openly gay anybody would receive 42 % of any vote.

I guess the meaning of "Big D" has changed since then : o

[Chief Engineer]

It looks to me that he was lighted with mixed light. Daylight from the left, incadesent light from the right.