Palisade picks Mikolai for reelection
PALISADE, Colo. (KREX) — The people of Palisade reelected incumbent Mayor Greg Mikolai to a second term. Rick Fox, Jeff Snook and Sarah Matchett are slated to fill the three empty positions on the Board of Trustees, but Ellen T. Turner isn’t out of the race yet.
Officials with the town of Palisade say the official election results won’t be available until the end of the day on April 10. This will allow overseas military ballots to arrive and signature verification requests to be cured.
In this election, those overseas military ballots could make a big difference.
Rick Fox and Jeff Snook each received 312 votes earning them a spot on the Board of Trustees, for now. Ellen T. Turner received 310 — only a two-vote difference. It’s well within the realm of possibility that Turner makes up two more votes to tie or three to outright win a spot on the Board of Trustees.
What happens if Turner ties the vote?
A Palisade official told WesternSlopeNow that if any combination of candidates has the same amount of votes but there aren’t enough positions the town clerk will pick a candidate at random. They cited a Colorado state statute 31-10-1204.
If any two or more candidates receive an equal and the highest number of votes for the same office and if there are not enough offices remaining for all such candidates, the clerk and his assistant shall determine by lot the person who shall be elected. Reasonable notice shall be given to such candidates of the time when such election will be so determined.
The same Palisade official mentioned picking names out of a hat, but WesternSlopeNow is unsure if they were being metaphorical or not.
The Unofficial Results
Mayor | Total Votes | % of Votes |
Greg Mikolai | 407 | 70.2 |
Bill Carlson | 173 | 29.8 |
580 | 100 |
Trustee | Total Votes | % of Votes |
Rick Fox | 312 | 19.8 |
Lu Frederick | 174 | 11 |
*Jan Kimbrough-Miller | 81 | 5.1 |
Sarah Matchett | 387 | 24.5 |
Jeff Snook | 312 | 19.8 |
Ellen T. Turner | 310 | 19.6 |
1,576 | ≈100 |
Voters could vote for up to three people for the Board of Trustees.
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