Winners Picked While You Wait! 

Our competitors may produce reams of useless stuff on how the Charlotte City Council and mayor's races might turn out, but only here can you read the guaranteed results of the elections a week before they take place.

That's right. We rounded up a psychic duo to scour the universe for the answers to your questions, and despite the more than 400 miles between them, the answers provided by Charlotte psychic Mary Beth Wrenn and Atlanta astrologer Kathryn Silverman were remarkably similar. Though Wrenn lives in Charlotte, she says she doesn't really follow local politics. Silverman was so removed from the Charlotte political situation, she zapped us back an email inquiring whether Pat McCrory, the current mayor of Charlotte, was a woman or a man. (She isn't a psychic medium like Wrenn. Silverman reads astrological charts for a living, so she wouldn't have automatically known that.) Wrenn sees auras, reads tarot cards and channels answers from spirits through her body. She tapped into the world of both the living and the dead to bring you the following prophecy.

As an added bonus, both women threw in significant predictions as to certain pols' futures when they stumbled across them. So clip and save this psychopolitical guide. The predictions within it will not completely unfold until the close of 2003, which will give you, dear reader, the advantage among your less enlightened friends when it comes to political gab and speculation. (As yet another journalistic bonus, Wrenn received imagery of the bombing or other large-scale destruction of the Eiffel Tower from a pesky spirit named "David" as we commenced our reading.)

Our third soothsayer is just an ordinary guy who studies and teaches political science for a living. UNCC Professor Ted Arrington says he has no psychic ability that he knows of. Arrington says one doesn't have to be psychic to predict that Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory will beat Democrat Ella Scarborough, who he clobbered by a 22-point margin two years ago. Of the eight candidates running at-large for city council, Arrington picked long-time incumbent Republican Lynn Wheeler and Republican newcomer Patrick Mumford to win two of the four at-large seats. One-term incumbent Democrat Joe White will win his seat back, and District 3 Democrat incumbent Patrick Cannon, who is running at-large, will win the fourth.

"If your psychic could tell me the order the at-large winners come in, then I would be a believer," said Arrington.

Silverman and Wrenn both picked Wheeler and Mumford to win two of the four at-large seats.

"Wheeler seems to have made her mark on the powers that be, some of whom may be the corporate types," wrote Silverman after perusing Wheeler's astrological chart. "She has the gift of persuasion coupled with a strong sense of charisma."

Both soothsayers also agree that Democrat "Coach" Joe White, a former high school football coach, will win his at-large seat back despite the controversy some of his votes have caused in some quarters of the city.

It was the fourth at-large council seat the women struggled most with. Silverman wouldn't pick a winner, but speculated on which of the five remaining candidates would nab it.

Based on his chart, Silverman gave 31-year-old Republican Warren Cooksey a remote chance of picking up a seat.

"Warren Cooksey's chances are a bit slim," she wrote. "His success is primarily dependent upon last minute fundraising and exposure to the public to gain adequate name recognition. Although he may possess a very strong business mind, he may be unable to convey the warm fuzzies that the public requires to feel at home with him."

Both Wrenn and Silverman agree that 2001 will not be Democrat newcomer Laura Lewin's year for a win.

"Although Lewin appears to have little difficulty gaining some recognition on Election Day itself, she appears to be at the mercy of others' actions, which may thwart her own success," wrote Silverman after taking her astrological pulse.

Divining the electoral chances of Democrat Patrick Cannon -- an incumbent who moved from a district seat to run at-large -- pulling off a win gave the two women the most difficulty. The two disagree on whether Cannon will pull off a win. Wrenn says he's on the line, but will likely win. Silverman says it's unlikely.

"Should Cannon somehow win, his chart shows considerable difficulty in getting anything off the ground the first few months of next year," wrote Silverman. "His time for the limelight, similar to Ms. Scarborough, seems to be the latter half of 2002 and early 2003. Branching out in new directions, perhaps

geographically speaking, would prove to be of benefit to Cannon."

Though Silverman couldn't know this since she lives in Atlanta, Cannon, who is African-American, has spent most of his political career in a mostly black district, and must convince white, suburban voters to vote for him if he is to win.

Both women agree that Republican arena-agitator Paul Eich, who has the last-minute backing of former council member and longtime Republican Mack Daddy agitator Don Reid, will not win an at-large council seat.

Wrenn and Silverman predict a win for McCrory in this mayor's race, and a strong future for him -- elsewhere.

"He's holding the keys to a city, but I don't think it is Charlotte," said Wrenn. Wrenn said that within the coming year he will clash with a strong woman or women's group that is holding him back from his future ambitions, and she also believes that this upcoming term may be his last in office. (Could this mean McCrory jumps into the primary race against US Congresswoman Sue Myrick?)

Silverman also sees a big career change or political payoff coming to McCrory in the next year or two and says his horoscope shows his long term efforts paying off considerably between January and April of 2003.

"McCrory, a Libra, is the consummate diplomat, with the uncanny ability to play both sides against the middle," Silverman writes. "The greatest flaw of Librans is the tendency to sit on the fence of indecisiveness. However, once they make a decision, there tends to be no going back."

Don't be surprised if he writes a book when he leaves the mayor's office, Wrenn adds.

Both women agree that this is not Ella Scarborough's year. But surprisingly, they both foresee a substantial political future for Scarborough, one in which she is elected or appointed to a position of power.

"Her emotional intensity is a force to be reckoned with and she has the ability to fight even when others consider her down and out," writes Silverman of Scarborough's astrological reading. "Look for her to grab the spotlight the latter half of next year, even is she is not elected."

Wrenn says her cards show that Scarborough will be a strong political force within a six-year period. Within the next year or two, she says, Scarborough will be instrumental in helping to change a law having to do with the legal or judicial system.

District 5 is the only council district in which there is any real competition. When Wrenn laid her hands on the two contestants' names, she said she got an amusing surprise from the spirits speaking through her.

Despite the fact that Democrat Nancy Carter and Republican Alan Wells clash, she said -- they have not clashed publicly, but have been slinging mud at each other through associates over the internet and by word of mouth -- they will be working together on projects in the future and complement each other perfectly.

"These two have had a past life together as husband and wife," said Wrenn. "That's why when they get together, they act married."

Wrenn says Carter will win a second term, but that she should watch out in the future.

"He's getting under her skin now, but he will catch up to her," said Wrenn. Wells is making a major impression on people through some sort of volunteer or community work, and could return to beat Carter in the next race.

We thank Mary Beth Wrenn for her input into our first annual election year prophecy. For those interested in partaking of her services, she can be reached at (704) 561-0044. Astrologer Kathryn L. Silverton can be reached at 770-939-1515 or on the web at www.planetaryperceptions.com.