Districts work through election challenges

“Some people thought once they had been elected, they would automatically be a candidate in the future,” said Gambee.

By the time the problem was discovered, she said the ballots had been put together and there was no way for the person to get elected except as a write-in candidate.

The situation became further complicated when Position 1 on the Tygh Valley Fire District board ended in a four-way tie of two votes each. Although the four contenders had the same number of votes, the name “Don Jaffe” had mistakenly been written instead of “Dan Jaffe,” but he couldn’t add those votes to his tally.

“Because of how the statute works, we couldn’t give Dan votes that were cast for a different name, or he would have won outright,” said Gambee.

When the tie occurred, she sent letters to the write-ins asking if they were interested in filling the position. Two people declined and Kenneth Martin and Dan Jaffe both said yes.

Gambee then did a coin toss to choose the winner, and it was Jaffe’s lucky day to win a four-year term in the elected office.

The state says that, in the case of a tie, the winner will be chosen “by lot.” Gambee said some counties choose a winner with a roll of a dice while others draw names out of a hat.

She opted to go with the coin toss because of precedent; it had been done a couple of years before for the same agency.

Martin and Joan Stark were then appointed by the Tygh Valley fire board to fill the two remaining positions with the five-member board. They will serve two years and then be required to seek election to their respective seats.

Jaffe agreed to be appointed by the Wasco County Commissioners to one of three vacant seats on the Tygh Valley water board. Four out of five positions had been on the ballot but one of the write-ins moved out of the area.

Wendy Martin was written into Position 2 on the water board and Cliff Olson switched from Position 3 after being written in for Position 5. He made the switch because it would give him a full four-year term. Position 1, 3 and 4 are still open and Gambee said Jaffe will take one, although the county has not yet decided which one.

Sam Cobb is expected to be appointed by the water board to fill a position, although he declined Position 1 by mistake after being written in.

Gambee said Cobb thought he was being offered a job in the letter of interest she sent him after the election, so he declined.

There is still one position available on the water board. Registered voters who live within the district boundaries and are interested in filling that seat are invited to come to the agency’s Aug. 3 meeting at Molly B’s Diner in Tygh Valley, 57740 Main St., at 6:30 p.m.

“Normally, this doesn’t happen,” said Gambee of the hectic election season.

When people write in candidates, she said one person may receive more votes but still not win because his or her name was listed under multiple positions, which must be counted separately.

“It makes everything so much more complicated,” she said.

Gambee said there are always a few votes for “Mickey Mouse” and other fictional characters in any election, although these are not considered valid choices.

Gambee said people are often so busy with work and family life that they don’t want to add volunteer time to an already hectic lifestyle, so it becomes difficult to fill special district seats.

However, she said the majority of tax dollars collected by the county goes to these districts and their boards decide how that funding will be used.

“These are the people governing the money you pay in taxes,” said Gambee.

To file as a candidacy for a special district, she said people need to pay a $10 fee or collect five to 10 signatures of registered voters in within that territory weeks ahead of the election. Dates for filing are advertised in advance on the county website, www.co.wasco.or.us, and through local media.