|
13 write-ins indicate Mundell, but not approved in recount
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · December 07, 2017
“Thirteen of those 14 wrote in Andy’s name,” recount board member Jodi Clemens said after the three-person panel on Nov. 29 found no change in the West Branch City Council election. “And there’s no recourse for that?”
“No,” Cedar County Auditor Cari Dauber said at the conclusion of the 35-minute recount that determined two open seats on the council would still go to top vote-getter Nick Goodweiler and Jodee Stoolman.
“You figure that if you write it in, you’re good,” Clemens said.
Write-in candidate Andy Mundell, who did not attend the recount due to work responsibilities, said he wished the results “turned out differently.”
“I’m a little bummed,” he said later that day.
He found it interesting that the absence of 13 filled-in circles separated him from a council seat.
“Had they filled it in, I would have won, and that’s nice to know,” Mundell said. “But I get it. That’s the law and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Stoolman, who also missed the recount due to work responsibilities, posted at 5:30 p.m. that day on Facebook a thank-you to her supporters, but also a warning.
“I would also like to say we need to get out and vote even if you think the election is uncontested,” she wrote on Facebook. “Someone can always sneak in the backdoor as a write-in, especially nowadays with social media being so powerful.”
Speaking to the Times, Stoolman said many supporters apologized for not voting because they did not realize a write-in candidate entered the race.
“I want to serve the community,” Stoolman said. “I’m winding down my time with the fire department and I want to still be active in the community.”
She said it will be hard to retire from the West Branch Fire Department after 31 years and the family connections — her father, Dick, served as chief for decades and brother, Kevin, is the current chief, and others served as firefighters.
The recount board’s decision finalizes the Nov. 7 city election results 22 days after the final ballot had been cast.
Clemens of Springdale served as the recount board designee of Mundell; Judy Kilpatrick of Morse served as the designee for Stoolman; the two agreed to accept Cedar County Treasurer Sandy Delaney as the third representative.
Dauber facilitated the recount and started by handing them seven absentee ballots. Each member of the recount board counted a different candidate. Clemens counted votes for Mundell; Kilpatrick counted votes for Stoolman and Delaney counted votes for Goodweiler.
Of the absentee ballots, Mundell received two votes, Goodweiler four and Stoolman four. Throughout the recount, the board saw several ballots with only one candidate selected.
In recounting 213 ballots cast at Town Hall, Goodweiler received 163, Stoolman 93 and Mundell 91. Clemens said her count showed 92 for Mundell, so the board went through the ballots a second time focusing solely on votes for Mundell. The second count came up with 91.
Final figures showed that of 220 total votes cast, Goodweiler received 167, or 45 percent; Stoolman received 97, or 26 percent; and Mundell received 93, or 25 percent. These numbers match the results originally recorded.
The recount also revealed several people receiving write-in votes, though none of those met the legal minimum threshold for the auditor’s office to include them in voting results.
• Write-ins that included full names: Tom Dean, Mike Owen, Norm Bickford, Dave Strong, Al Brennemen and Curt Casper.
• Write-ins with only first names: “Shane,” “Gabe,” “Glen and David,” “Andrew,” “Bruce” and “Bruce and Andrew.”
Other findings of the recount board:
• One voter filled in a circle for Jodee Stoolman and then also wrote Stoolman’s name as a write-in candidate.
• One voter offered three write-in candidates — one for mayor and two for council — “None,” “None” and “None.” “Why even vote?” Clemens commented.
• Though the focus was on the city council race, Clemens noted that one person had an interesting write-in for the mayor’s race: “Obama for mayor.”
Mundell’s campaign amounted to Facebook posts and word of mouth. He said the election and recount process made him more interested in getting involved in city government in some way.
“I’d like to come to a couple of meetings to see how it all goes and go from there,” he said.
Mundell said he used to watch video of council meetings until his cable provider dropped the channel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
