I concede the election and will not further contest the election….It is now obvious that a plurality of the voters have spoken and the election is decided.
I have been unable to reach Mayor-elect Joe Cobb, but I publicly wish him and all the City Council winners all the best.
I had hoped to bring some diversity of opinion and balance of representation to city hall. I had lots of exciting new plans, ideas and projects that I wanted to work on. I really was praying that the people of Roanoke might give me yet another opportunity to do so. I was hoping my experience would bring the change and a new vision for Roanoke, which I still believe a majority of city voters wanted, but my efforts unfortunately fell short.
This is “My Last Hurrah!” I want to sincerely thank the people of Roanoke for the many good years we worked together on reopening The Hotel Roanoke, promoting our downtown, many new jobs and economic development within city limits, bringing the Virginia Tech medical school to Carillon, increasing the number of women and African Americans in our city workforce, listening to the concerns in all 4 quadrants of the city (prioritizing none over the other), developing our greenways, preserving Mill Mountain, creating a “top ten in America” St. Patrick’s Day parade, and so much, so much more, making sure always that our city will “thrive” into the future.
Thank you to the people of Roanoke for making my personal Patrick Henry High School “dream come true” to serve as your Mayor not just once, not just twice or three times, but four times! Thank you and God Bless you all and may God Bless our beloved Roanoke. – David Bowers
