Mayor’s race a tie
Judicial recount will be required next. If it’s still tied after that, a name will be drawn from a hat
A recount has ended in a tie in the race for Peachland mayor, according to the candidate who topped the polls on Saturday.
Harry Gough says he and Cindy Fortin, the incumbent, are now said by election ofÀcials to have each received 804 votes.
The preliminary results released after the polls closed Saturday showed Gough had won the mayor’s race with 804 votes, one more than Fortin received.
“During the recount, Cindy picked up one more vote, apparently,” Gough said Monday after speaking with Polly Palmer, the town’s director of corporate services who doubles as chief election ofÀcer.
Palmer later conÀrmed in a news release that the mayor’s race had ended in a tie at 804 votes each, and the ofÀcial results were posted on the town’s website Monday night. By provincial law, the results must be declared ofÀcial no later than 4 p.m. today.
Palmer said the town now will apply for a judicial recount. Should the judge agree the result is a tie, Peachland’s mayor will be decided by drawing Gough’s name or Fortin’s name out of a hat.
“It sounds like a crazy way to settle the matter if it’s a tie,” Gough said. “My idea is that Cindy and I should just have a runoff election, but I guess this is what the law says.”
While saying he’ll respect whatever the outcome of the
mayoral race might be, Gough said he does have some concerns with the way Monday’s recount was handled.
He received an email from Palmer at 8:27 a.m. Monday in which she wrote that the recount was a routine step and “No candidates are present.”
In fact, the Local Government Act clearly allows for the presence of candidates, and even members of the public, during the recounting process. For example, The Daily Courier was able to take a picture of the recount process at Kelowna City Hall.
After receiving the email from Palmer, Gough went to Kelowna’s airport. At 10 a.m., he got another email from Palmer in which she wrote that she had reviewed the Local Government Act and realized that candidates could be present during the recount.
Gough asked if the start of the recount could be delayed until he could return to Peachland. But the count began without him, and his designated representative, Randey Brophy, arrived shortly after the Àrst ballot boxes had been opened.
“I don’t know why they couldn’t have waited at least until Randey got there, especially since I was given the wrong information earlier that candidates couldn’t be there for the recount,” Gough said.
Palmer later told The Daily Courier Gough’s votes weren’t counted until his representative had shown up.