Every vote counts in April 4 municipal election

They say that “every vote counts” and that was certainly the case in the April 4 municipal elections in Jefferson County.

In the race among four candidates for three seats on the Windsor C-1 School District’s Board of Education, the final, unofficial tallies resulted in a flat-footed tie for the third and final spot, as incumbents Michael Scott Brothers and Timothy C. McCraw each had 545 votes.

Incumbent Dan Shaul and newcomer Dustin Schwartz were the top two vote-getters.

In the race for three seats on the Crystal City school board, the margin was almost as slim, as Cynthia S. Coleman garnered 251 votes to take first place and fellow incumbent Linda K. Schilly trailed by just one vote. But for the third and final spot, challenger Melissa S. Parker had 226 votes to incumbent Curtis Dale Binsbacher’s 222.

County Clerk Jeannie Goff said because the margin of defeat for Binsbacher was less than 1 percent, he can challenge the results.

Goff said her office’s election verification board will likely do a hand recount of all the ballots in both school districts beginning Thursday.

If the Windsor race holds up to be a tie, Brothers and McCraw can choose to break it with a coin flip or request a runoff election, Goff said.

The turnout on Tuesday was fairly typical for an April municipal election, with 12.1 percent of Jefferson County’s voters casting ballots. Last year, the turnout was 17.8 percent, but that was fueled by a heated campaign concerning a countywide parks tax that ultimately went down to defeat.

“I originally was thinking 12 percent, then I said 13, and I should have stuck with 12,” Goff said. “I think I was being hopeful. We always want as many people to vote as they can. Fortunately, we had nice weather.”

Goff said her first election at the helm after working mainly as the second-in-command behind five different county clerks over the last 35 years was uneventful.

“To be honest, it didn’t feel any different for me,” she said. “We all had a job to get done, and there’s a great team here, and everybody worked hard to get it done.”

She said she heard of no problems at any polling places.

“It was quiet. Everybody behaved themselves,” she said. “There were no surprises.”

Well, when the final results rolled in, there may have been a few unexpected turns.

In Herculaneum, longtime Mayor William C. Haggard was upset by political newcomer Ryan Wright, and for the Ward 3 seat on the city’s Board of Aldermen, write-in candidate Israel David Clayman defeated Jessica Shepherd for an open seat.

Goff said the average turnout was a bit of a surprise, given a heated race for seats on the Jefferson County Health Department’s Board of Trustees.

“With the health board, and all the propositions, I think we might have expected a bigger turnout,” she said.

Nine candidates filed for the three Health Department seats, with two of the three incumbents, Timothy J. Pigg and Dennis M. Diehl, winning new four-year terms. Challenger Tammy Stidem finished second and turned out the other incumbent, James Prater.

Most of the ballot issues passed overwhelmingly, including taxes on marijuana sales in Festus, Herculaneum, Hillsboro and Pevely.

All school district ballot issues passed.

The only issues that failed to meet muster with voters were a request for an internet use tax in Byrnes Mill and a pair of propositions in the Dunklin Fire Protection District.

Final, unofficial results from the April 4 election. Winners in bold. Incumbents listed with an (I). Ballot issues required a simple majority for passage unless indicated.