To the editor:
Sometimes on or before Nov. 7th, nearly three thousand voters cast their votes to send a representative to Augusta. Post election plus nearly two months later the seat has a body but the winner has yet to be declared.
I write to update those of you who took time out of your schedules to vote and deserve an update of the facts, whereas a mumbled line on your local news channel, or a slanted one-liner in the local newspaper tends only to confuse issues involved in the decision-making process.
It seems after several months of campaigning, the real race started after the votes were cast and more questions than answers came out of a recount.
Election poll results showed a 4-vote spread between candidates, well under the 2 percent margin that triggers recounts. The recount showed a 3-vote margin and also several unanswered questions pertinent to declaring a winner. Twenty-seven votes were missing from the Presque Isle portion of District 7, troublesome when you look at the details. Are the ballots missing or did people in District 7 get District 5 ballots ?
The district is complex, and the road that encompasses the district is determined as to whether you live in an odd numbered house or a even numbered house on that road. It is a district in which the boundaries are very complex. Enough evidence has been presented to the Elections Panel to keep the race alive and well. Several people have been identified as getting wrong ballots. The state Elections Committee met on Dec. 20 and the members acted on House District 102 (Standish). The race was turned around and a winner declared. District 7 was tabled.
After researching the term sour grapes, (no one wants to go there) however it seems “sour grapes”, is a term used in Ezekiel 18-1-3 and doesn’t apply to political races. “Sore loser” was reinvented after the Bush-Gore run for the White House and may be applied, but it could be argued that they are both losers. Oh and just in case a Senator from Eagle Lake chimes in on this, we need only to remember his 1992 debacle to put things in perspective.
Just who is the real winner for District 7?
John Churchill
Washburn
