Fw: Looks like these people need help

["Greg Forsythe" <gfglobal@earthlink.net>]

I'm doing a study on "elections that have gone bad", someone mentioned that
>there was an election that did not turn out well.  I'm wondering if you
have
>information about same.

The Portland City Council election did end rather badly. Councilor Philip
Dawson finished a mere 35 votes ahead of challenger Ethan Strimling.
Strimling asked for a recount. According to Portland law, the City
Council administers recounts - which meant that Dawson and his fellow
councilors (who include one of Strimling's employees) would decide the
outcome.

They decided in Strimling's favor, awarding him a number of votes in
which the voter had marked the write-in spot on the ballot but hadn't
written in a name. Strimling's name was just above that line.

This provoked a furor and threats of lawsuits. Strimling ended up saving
the situation by agreeing to step out of the race, allowing Dawson to
take his seat on the council. Many in Portland are saying this points to
a fundamental weakness in Portland's system, and want the law changed so
that a judge administers recounts.

For actual news stories from the event, you can register at
www.portland.com/archive and pay a small fee. A search for "Strimling"
should give you what you want.



-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Forsythe <gfglobal@earthlink.net>
To: Sales Talk <salestalk@dieboldes.com>
Date: June 22, 1999 5:57 PM
Subject: Looks like these people need help


>I wonder what election system these people are using.  Looks like they need
>help!
>
>http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi-bin/search/me
>