If he is re-elected, Bates will serve a special two-year term instead of the usual four to align with the upcoming presidential election in 2008.

In other Berkeley races last night, incumbents in three of four contested council seats appeared headed to victory. One race, between incumbent Kriss Worthington and challenger George Beier, remained tight in early returns.

Through the past month, debates between front-runners Bronstein, a retired U.C. Santa Barbara English professor, and Bates grew heated over accusations of backroom deals and development pacts between the city and university. Bronstein is the former chair of the Berkeley Planning Commission.

Late this evening at Zelda Bronstein’s campaign headquarters, a formerly vacant storefront on Martin Luther King Drive, campaign officials and supporters snacked on bread, cheese and sipped wine.

In spite of the laughter and jovial appearance of the party, a feeling of concession was in the air. Although she refused to openly admit defeat, the tone of her speech suggested otherwise.

“I am probably going to lose,” Bronstein said to a reporter, in a candid admission outside her headquarters.

Bronstein said she may run again in 2008, but was “proud” of her campaign.

“We are not going away, we live here, it’s our city, we love it and we are not going to let them take it away,” Bronstein said. “This campaign is always about more than the mayoral race, its about that, but it was about giving voice to widespread concerns in this city that have been ignored too long,” Bronstein said.

Less than a mile away, Bates’ supporters gathered in a banquet hall at Café de la Paz on Shattuck Avenue. Bates arrived at the café and addressed his campaign staff supporters, his face beaming with satisfaction.

“We’re way ahead in the absentees, but there’s still a long way to go,” Bates said.

Although the results of the vote have yet to be finalized, Bates expressed relief at leading in the absentee polls after enduring harsh criticism from his detractors for the entirety of his campaign.

“This was a very difficult campaign because I wasn’t running against one or two people, but three,” Bates said. “All three were ganging up on me and the stuff I’ve done. I didn’t have time to respond. It was very frustrating, but that’s over and I’m glad the people saw through the issues I wanted and thought was important.”

The other two candidates, Zachary Runningwolf and Christian Pecaut, both running on leftist platforms, garnered less than 5 percent of the overall vote. Pecaut is a recent Stanford graduate who created a class called, “The Science of Social Problem Solving,” according to his website. Runningwolf is a Native American activist.

As voters trickled out of polling venues around Berkeley this afternoon, many of Mayor Tom Bates’ supporters reasoned that he should stay in office for one simple reason: “Because he’s the incumbent.”

Mike Badalov, a 28-year-old Chicago transplant and MBA candidate at UC Berkeley, said that was why he voted for Bates, who is being challenged by Zelda Bronstein, former chair of the Berkeley Planning Commission, Christian Pecaut, a recent Stanford graduate, and Zachary Runningwolf, a Native American activist. Badalov cited Bates’ “perceived reputation” as motivation for casting his vote at the Hillside School voting station.

Several voters at Hillside, like 54-year-old Daniel Zimmerlin, said they agreed. “I don’t know much about the election, but I voted for Bates because of his recorded history,” Zimmerlin said.

Voters at the Martin Luther King Civic Center also said they voted for Bates, but for different reasons. Jan Dodge, 77, a 1952 Cal alum and Berkeley resident for the last 33 years, said she originally wanted to vote for Bronstein, but grew suspicious about what Dodge called Bronstein’s “mudslinging” against her opponent.

Dodge said she thought “maybe Berkeley could use a change,” but that she ultimately changed her mind because she favors Bates’ “green attitude” and his willingness to “stay true to his ideals,” even though she joked that he “looked like a wimp” in his campaign photos.

Gato Tanori, 54, of Berkeley, cast his ballot for Bates from Norton Hall, a residence hall on the UC Berkeley campus.

“You know there is always room for improvement, but as far as administration, I am pretty positive with his work,” Tanori said.

Tanori said his support for Bates was strengthened by what Tanori felt was an improvement in the current administration’s handling of mental health issues and homelessness.

A majority of those issues stemmed from the recent economic fallout on Telegraph, Tanori said. He also said that he enjoyed the open involvement in common council meetings.

The race has been defined by a construction dispute between the university and the city’s downtown district. With city administrators trying to nullify the campus’ bid for projects that include a new athletic center and underground garage, much of the mayoral debate centered on the candidates’ conflicting views of the campus’ expansion and its effect on the city’s downtown restoration.

“The race isn’t about me or my campaign,” Bates said last night. “It’s about realizing we have a lot of problems in this city and how we can work together to solve them.”