By Ray Gronberg

gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648

DURHAM -- A Ward 2 City Council candidate wants incumbent Howard Clement to withdraw from the race and endorse a potential successor.

The suggestion came from challenger Darius Little, who in a recent e-mail to Clement nominated himself as the longtime councilman's obvious "political offspring."

The other three candidates in the race "have absolutely nothing noteworthy, as you and myself, to bring to the table," Little said in the message, which was also circulated to other city officials. "Let's be serious here."

Little told the 75-year-old Clement he should withdraw on account of age.

"I have observed you and you have reached an age where it is rather difficult for you to even stand," the 29-year-old challenger said. "Also, you don't drive, so you have to rely on others to get where you're going, each and every day."

Asked for his reaction, Clement said he thought it "best just to have no comment" on Little's e-mail.

Clement added, however, that he isn't dropping out of the race. "Not by a long shot," he said.

Little's message did draw criticism at Bull City Rising, a local blog run by Duke University IT administrator Kevin Davis. Davis got hold of a copy of the e-mail and posted it.

Critics of the challenger's idea said that at the very least, it's not clear Little, an ex-felon, would be the first choice even for people looking for an alternative to Clement.

The other candidates in the Ward 2 race are Matt Drew, Sandra Howell and Sylvester Williams. They, Clement and Little face off in an Oct. 6 primary.

Other than Clement, the best-known of the group going into the race was Williams, a local minister and opponent of the proposed East End Connector who's urged officials to cancel the project or at least offer generous compensation to homeowners who'd be displaced by the new highway.

The tone of Little's message also drew fire in comments to Davis' blog. One, City Councilman Eugene Brown, said of the challenger in a posting, "the best word to use in his case is: chutzpa[h]."

"If this letter isn't the tackiest thing I've ever heard, it's close," added another critic, real estate agent Ellen Dagenhart.

There were a couple of pro-Little comments, but they sparked a response from Davis, who said they'd come from "nearly identical" Internet Protocol addresses and seemed "obviously spoofed."

"Whoever's doing the 'astroturfing,' stop," Davis said. "You're not helping whatever cause you're trying to push."