"As Charlottesville Democrats prepare to choose their two candidates for the upcoming City Council election, online political junkies are taking sides, spurred on by the chance at a complimentary burger and fries.

Endorsements are a part of any campaign season, but this year party activist George Loper, who runs an influential political web site, has raised the stakes. Loper is offering lunch and a piece of pie at The Nook to one lucky visitor to the site. The only way to enter the drawing: endorse a candidate.

“My feeling is, if you’re doing politics, you’ve got to keep a sense of humor,” he said Thursday. People have used the site, at www.loper.org/~george, to post endorsements in the past, he said. “The question would be how to put some humor and lightness to it. And so you offer people a free lunch.”

The discussion hasn’t always been light. J. Lloyd Snook III, party co-chairman, touched off a controversy when he endorsed Mayor Blake Caravati and David Simmons for the two open seats, praising Caravati’s experience and Simmons’ thoughtfulness.

Snook argued that his endorsement was a form of full disclosure, and said openly stating his preference should avert charges of favoritism or back-room dealing. The move drew critics, though, who said party officials should maintain impartiality.

“When you’re a candidate, especially for the first time, you really want a leadership that you can go to to talk about potential problems, and your hopes and doubts, where you are with your candidacy,” candidate Alexandria Searls said in an interview Wednesday.

“I didn’t feel comfortable approaching leadership, because I knew that they already had certain ideas about how they wanted the election to turn out,” she added. Searls stressed that her intent was not to single out Snook. His co-chairman, Russell Perry, did not endorse a candidate.

Beyond the party chairs, a host of others have weighed in, including city officials both past and present and various interest groups.

The anti-Meadowcreek Parkway group Sensible Transportation Alternatives to the Meadowcreek Parkway endorsed Searls and Waldo Jaquith, the only two of the six candidates who oppose the road.

Two other groups issued statements that, while technically not endorsements, called for the support of certain candidates. The Democrats for Change, a group that lobbies for “progressive” causes, announced that Searls, Jaquith and Joan Fenton are the candidates that agree with the group’s agenda.

On Thursday, a group of prominent women that includes City Councilor Meredith Richards, former mayor Kay Slaughter and two other former councilors, among others, urged voters to consider Fenton and Searls as a way of bolstering female representation in politics.

Richards said later that while the letter isn’t intended to endorse any particular candidates, “it’s an endorsement of having more women on City Council.” Fenton and Searls are the only women running.

The only current councilor to make a public endorsement, then, is David J. Toscano. When he announced his plans to leave office in May, Toscano threw his support to Caravati, the only incumbent running.

Among others, Caravati also has the support of Loper himself, former city councilor John Conover, Planning Commission member Nancy Damon and former party chairs David Brown and Nila Saliba.

Bern Ewert’s list of supporters, the longest on Loper’s web site, includes former newspaper publisher Catherine Peaslee, civil rights activist Alicia Lugo and former councilors George H. Gilliam and Jill Rinehart.

Lined up behind Fenton are School Board members Olivia Boykin and Linda Bowen, as well as Virginia National Bank President Mark T. Giles, business owner Susan Payne and former Democrats for Change chairman David RePass.

Jaquith’s supporters include Nelson County vineyard owner Al Weed, former council candidate Peter Kleeman and “living wage” activist Nicholas Graber-Grace.

Searls lists RePass and former mayor Nancy O’Brien as supporters, and Simmons lists Damon and Saliba.

In a newspaper ad published Thursday, developer Oliver Kuttner endorsed Searls, Fenton and Jaquith. It also criticizes city government and tells voters who plan to wait for the May 7 election, “your vote does not count.”

“In Charlottesville, elections are decided this Saturday at the primary convention,” Kuttner wrote. “If you take the time to come out, your vote will count.”

Endorsements are most valuable, Loper said, to voters who are having trouble deciding, or who plan to support one candidate but aren’t sure about another.

“I think people who are truly on the fence, and who see the endorsements, may remember the endorsements when they go to the convention,” he said.

“It may change their minds, and it may not.” " (Jake Mooney, The Daily Progress, February 22, 2002).