Staff writer
After canvassing the April 5 election and counting write-in and provisional ballots Monday, Marion County Commission broke two ties.
Jayme Linn Brunner and Kathy A. Matkins were tied for the final position on Ramona City Council with 32 votes each. Commissioner Dan Holub randomly selected Brunner’s name from a basket with the candidates’ names.
No candidates filed for five city council positions in Lehigh. John Masson with 20 votes, Todd Jost with 19, and Brad Dies with 14 won positions outright. Polly Funk, Eldon Kaiser, and Donna Terrell tied for the final two positions with 11 votes each. Commission Chairman Roger Fleming randomly selected Funk and Terrell from a basket.
In other write-in elections, David Terrell was elected mayor of Lehigh with 17 votes. Roland Boeseker, 23 votes, and Mary Glenn, 19, won positions on Burns City Council.
In Lincolnville, write-in choices Sherri Pankratz, 21 votes, and Dennis Burch, 7, won seats on the city council alongside Joseph H. Vinduska, who was the only candidate to appear on the ballot.
Joseph A. Zinn with 13 votes was the only candidate on Lost Springs’ city council ballot to fill five positions. He will be joined on the council by Connie Jenkins, 15 votes; Frank Wirtz, 13; Troy Madron Sr., 9; and Lawrence Jenkins, 7.
All write-in winners have the option to refuse election.
Kimberly Klein mounted the only significant write-in campaign for a contested race, with 44 votes. She finished third in the USD 410 Position 3 race behind winner Chad Nowak, 159 votes, and Stephanie Moss, 82.
Other write-in choices receiving votes in various races in Marion County included Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Peter Pan, “someone else,” and “none of the above.”