The Ward 1 vote against incumbent councilmember Jim Graham appears to be headed for a split, but it just got a little less schismatic. Former Phil Mendelson staffer Beverley Wheeler, who entered the race in September,  says she’s dropping out and backing Brianne Nadeau.

Wheeler lagged behind the two other challengers in fundraising, raising only $6,830.00 compared to Bryan Weaver‘s $45,437.02 and Nadeau’s $96,442.59. (Graham, who announced his plan to run after the Dec. 10 filing deadline, hasn’t had to reveal his campaign committee’s fundraising totals yet).

Wheeler says she’s dropping out to spend more time with her mother and son, a senior in high school. “I haven’t helped him at all figure out how to pick a college,” Wheeler says.

In a press release, Wheeler called on Weaver to drop out and endorse Nadeau. LL’s waiting to hear back from Weaver.

While Wheeler claims she doesn’t believe in the concept of splitting the vote, her new favorite candidate certainly does. Nadeau says that she hasn’t talked with Weaver recently about one of them dropping out, but thinks Wheeler’s endorsement puts her closer to being the race’s frontrunner challenger.

“None of us want to see the vote split again,” Nadeau says.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery