By Ray Gronberg

gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648

DURHAM -- The Friends of Durham political group announced this week it's adding endorsements of Mayor Bill Bell and Ward 3 City Councilman Mike Woodard to its previously decided support of incumbents in this year's city election.

The group during the primary season endorsed Ward 1 Councilwoman Cora Cole-McFadden and Ward 2 Councilman Howard Clement, endorsements which also stand for the general election.

"Overall, we have been very happy with all of the incumbents, especially regarding their holding the line on tax increases," Friends leader David Smith said. "We are also very pleased with the new city manager, Tom Bonfield, and believe they deserve credit for hiring him.

Smith added that the group's members believe that while the challengers in this year's election "have a lot of enthusiasm," they "lack the knowledge and experience of the incumbents.

Bell is running against challenger Steven Williams. Woodard is facing Allan Polak for the Ward 3 seat, Clement is facing Matt Drew in Ward 2 and Cole-McFadden is seeking re-election against Donald Hughes in Ward 1.

The Friends is one of the city's big-three political groups and is generally regarded as the most conservative. The other groups are the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and the People's Alliance.