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Sunday, February 20, 2005

Heads or Tails?

Just when you thought election results couldn't get any more strange:

Pittsfield voters on Tuesday gave Kelm and challenger Keith Deneys 154 votes apiece, behind top vote-getter Teresa Wargo, who earned 168 votes. The tie for second place in the primary left the elimination of one candidate to the fate of a coin toss.

So in a tense smoke-filled room, the combatants put it all on the line; an election cycle worth of campaigning came down to one history soaked moment. The town clerk was on hand to toss the coin, the watchful eye of the Green Bay Press Gazette on hand to record the moment.

"Heads or tails?"

And in one moment, as one hand was removed from a top another to uncover a coin that held the fate of two campaigns in the balance--it appeared that Keith Deneys had defeated the incumbent and and would move on to the General Election. But would he? Not so fast.

There was something missing from the room that left the results of the coin toss in doubt. You guessed it, the "town's board of canvassers weren't present. What a glaring oversight! As a result, the two campaigns have begun throwing barbs in the press, kicking their noise machines into high gear, bringing the matter to the fore.

Kelm said Wednesday’s coin toss simply wasn’t official. She considered the lot-draw a fitting end to the current term.

Critics will undoubtedly charge that Kelm might not be singing the same tune were she on the right side of the coin flip; a notion that I am sure her press secretary would dismiss if she had a staff. On the other hand, Deneys has attempted to turn his apparent slight into campaign fodder.

“It just concerns me that the proper details aren’t taken care of in the forefront before we do something of this nature,” he said. “It’s just another inconsistency in the way this town has been run.”

I agree, and its even more the reason we need to replace Kelm and the old regime that she represents. Mr. Deneys, we are pulling for you, and if you get to call--please choose tails.

UPDATE: How I missed this, I have no idea...

It appears Deneys won the second "coin toss." However, it wasn't really a coin toss--they just picked the winner from a hat. The vanquished Kelm has until Tuesday to decide whether or not to pursue a recount.

In light of a recent discovery that Deneys is affiliated with the "adopt a sniper" program, I hope she does.

Posted at 03:01 PM in General | Technorati