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Incumbent Republican Bob Bate and Democrat challenger Bette Erxleben each garnered 251 votes in the Nov. 6 municipal election. The Republican Party reported last week that they would make a formal filing for a recount today. Stinson acknowledges that fact, saying that “a recount could still determine a legitimate winner. Frankly, that would be a blessing,” Stinson said in a letter addressed to Ellis, a Democrat.
Stinson made the proposal to Ellis in that letter, a copy of which was made available to the News-Banner Saturday.
Noting the strong qualifications of both Bate and Erxleben, calling them “top notch,” Stinson says that it is “unfortunate that both can not hold office ... and unfortunate that an equal number of citizens who took the time to vote, will see their vote lost regardless of the eventual officeholder.” Stinson further noted that “it is most unfortunate that existing state law provides for a partisan political vote to pick a ‘winner’ in such circumstances.”
Indiana code calls for the tie vote to be broken by the city council itself. The current council consists of three Democrats and two Republicans, one of which is Bate. The state code has been interpreted to read that Bate, being one of the candidates in the tie-vote situation, cannot vote on this issue.
“Politics is always with us in government and that is OK during the campaign,” Stinson argues. “However, partisan politics in an official action by the City Council is not OK, and on the surface it seems that this could occur in this instance.”
Stinson says that she can not recollect a time when a partisan vote was taken in Bluffton City Council action. “This election and possible council vote is not the time to begin a bad practice,” she says.
Noting that “many citizens” have suggested to her that a coin toss is the only fair solution, Stinson proposes that the council could then formally ratify the outcome of the coin toss with a matching vote.
“I can think of no fairer or better solution to the problem,” Stinson writes.
Like Stinson, Ellis, who was elected without opposition on Nov. 6 to his fourth term as Bluffton’s chief executive, hopes that the problem goes away with the recount and that the issue will not land on the city council agenda. Assuming however, that the recount ends with the same result, Ellis feels that the decision on how to proceed is not up to him.
“If the Legislature wanted tie votes to be decided (with a coin toss), that’s how they would have written the law,” he stated. “On the other hand, if the council members want to settle it this way, it is certainly within their purview to do so.”
Copies of the letter were not sent to city council members, but Ellis said they will be copied in immediately.
It is not known at this point exactly when the recount will be completed, but it is presumed that it will not be done and certified before this week’s council meeting, which takes place Tuesday evening. The next city council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11.
“If the recount affirms a tie and (the paperwork) is delivered to the city after the 11th, I will call a special meeting to resolve the tie,” Ellis said. A special meeting will be necessary since the council’s next regularly scheduled meeting falls on Christmas Day and therefore, will not be held.
County Democratic Party chairman Chuck King doesn’t see a coin toss as the proper thing to do.
“We can’t make our own laws,” King said this morning. “This would fly in the face of Indiana Code, which is not to say that I agree with every law.”
King doesn’t think it would be a good practice to settle any issue with a coin toss when elected officials have an opportunity to make a decision, “whether it’s partisan or not,” he said.
Stinson said Monday morning that her party doesn’t want to do anything wrong. “If we can’t settle it this way, then we can’t,” she stated, “But we feel that this unfortunate situation in our small community could be better resolved this way and would avoid hard feelings.”
One thing that everyone seems to agree on, King noted, was the hope that the recount determines the winner.
miller@news-banner.com
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