Talkers think it’s difficult to think poorly of someone who has dedicated her retirement years to starting a program and spearheading a facility that now feeds on average more than 100 people per day, or a decision that continuing to run the soup kitchen is her priority.

Tilley had come to the conclusion that her work at the three-year-old mission to feed the local hungry was more important than a run at becoming Huntersville’s mayor, and she had decided to drop out of the race. She paraphrased Sarah Palin’s recent announcement to not enter the Republican Presidential Primary.

“I just think I do much more good as a private citizen than I can attending meetings,” says Tilley. “Our clientele is growing and our support base is growing, and I haven’t been able to devote the time that is needed to manage that. And I’m just not ready to turn the kitchen over to anybody else.”

Tilley’s departure leaves two candidates vying for mayor of Huntersville, two-term incumbent Jill Swain and her lone challenger, first-term Commissioner Danae Caulfield.

Whether Tilley, a political newcomer, would have been a strong contender is hard to tell. She is highly connected and well known, largely because of her work at Angels and Sparrows, so Talkers will predict that Tilley will remain relevant where she needs to be.