Running up That Hill for the Last Time (sniff)

Here's the first official statement from Don Hill, who -- with 570 out of 577 precincts now reporting in -- will finish third in the race to become the city's mayor. Hill finishes with nearly 10,000 and 14 percent of the 71,000-plus votes cast, which put him too far in back of top vote-getters Tom Leppert (27.12 percent, or 19,255 votes) and Ed Oakley (20.64 percent, or 14,653 votes), who will be the candidates come the June 16 runoff.

Hill's giving his thank-you-good-night speech right now, but moments ago he told Our Man Downtown Matt Pulle that he was happy with the way the campaign was run and with the results -- which is to say, Hill and his supporters were "heartened" by the third-place finish, especially since they had little money with which to work. As for that FBI investigation, Hill said it did indeed hurt fundraising efforts, but he just told Pulle, "I'm not gonna be upset about it. The FBI investigation and the cloud it placed over me strengthened me as a leader and strengthened my faith. I have experienced something few people will ever experience, and I came out stronger."

Which is the nicest way possible of saying thank you and good night. --Robert Wilonsky

• Politics