http://www.lancasterexpress.com/
No one was more surprised than Charlie Smithgall by his showing in the May 19 Primary for Mayor of Lancaster City. The two term former mayor lost his bid to run for a third term in 2005 to current mayor and former attorney Rick Gray. That loss was a stunning defeat that many never saw coming.
A lifelong resident of the city Smithgall, a high profile Republican, small business owner and professional pharmacist first ran for office in 1997 after sitting mayor, Democrat Janice Stork, announced she wouldn't seek a third term. Easily elected to two terms Charlie Smithgall seemed destined to serve an unopposed third term. Despite being plagued by several controversial issues during his administration, Smithgall remained the front runner for Mayor going into 2005.
J. Richard Gray for Mayor
Rick Gray was not originally from Lancaster County. Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania his family later relocated to Dauphin County. After high school, Gray went to American University in Washington DC. Following graduation he continued his education receiving his JD from Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle Pennsylvania.
After college Rick Gray relocated to Pittsburgh where he became an attorney for VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America). He then worked for Legal Services for Central Pennsylvania. In 1976 Rick Gray moved to Lancaster where he opened a private legal practice. Gray went on to become one of the most recognized defense attorney's in the state.
At the top of his game in the legal profession, Rick Gray sought new challenges. The Lancaster Democratic Committee, anxious to recapture the Mayor's office, looked to Rick Gray. And as the Democrats strengthened, the formerly secure Mayor, Charlie Smithgall, found himself in a challenged Primary.
(Please read the link for the remainder of the story)