Leffingwell pounds the pavement

KXAN (Austin) - In the hours before he faces two strong contenders in his bid for Austin Mayor, City Councilman Lee Leffingwell spent Election day pounding the pavement.

"I just came out here to say 'hello' to people who are going to vote in case there's any last minute chance to persuade them if they need persuading," said Leffingwell.

The last-minute push is a good move by anyone's standards, as polling shows him in a dead heat with Carole Keeton Strayhorn and President Pro Tem Brewster McCracken. It's almost certain that the election will go into a run-off.

The 69-year-old Leffingwell, a two-term councilman, hit several polling places. Leffingwell is the only mayoral candidate to borrow campaign funds, he loaned himself $100-thousand.

A U.T. and Travis High School graduate, Leffingwell also flew fighter jets in Vietnam and commercial airlines for Delta. He has been endorsed by several public safety groups.

With a narrow lead, Leffingwell is expecting a June 13th runoff. "We feel very good we are optimistic but elections are always you don't know what's going to happen until the vote comes in," said Leffingwell. "That is the beauty of democracy."