Hagen wins fiscal officer seat in re-count; Greenfield aggregation issue fails
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
During an official recount Monday, incumbent Patrick Hagen was declared the winner in the race for Fairfield Township Fiscal officer, voiding the need for a tie-breaking coin toss.
Last week, the official count of the Nov. 8 general election by the Highland County Board of Elections resulted in a 468-468 tie between incumbent Patrick Hagen and challenger Tracy Evans. Ohio law says that tied races are to be decided by a coin toss, or the drawing of cards or straws.
In previous years, the tie-breaking was done following the re-count when a tie has been certified. However, the Ohio Secretary of State's Office informed the board of elections last week that they should perform the coin toss before the re-count.
On Wednesday, the Highland County Board of Elections met in a special session for the official coin toss. The candidates' names were put into a hat to determine who would call the toss. A name was drawn out by an impartial person not affiliated with the board or the candidates. Evans' won the right to call the toss, calling "heads," and she won the toss.
According to Steve Witham, of the Highland County Board of Elections, during the re-count of provisionals and absentee ballots it was found that a ballot for Evans had been counted twice, so Hagen won the race by one vote.
Additionally, a tied race on a Greenfield ballot issue was defeated during the official recount.
On election night, unofficial results had the Natural Gas Aggregation issue passing with 408 votes for and 405 votes against. The official count showed that there were 418 votes against the issue and 415 votes for the issue. The official re-count had the issue failing by three votes.
The issue was to authorize the Greenfield Village Council to begin the aggregation programs. Aggregation allows consumers to combine their electric usage and form buying groups. Group purchasing, or aggregation, may allow consumers to secure greater buying power in a competitive market. The program leverages the combined buying power of homeowners to deliver lower cost electricity. The programs were expected to start in early 2012. Opt-out aggregation is a program that automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they choose not to be included.
Voters passed the electric aggregation.
During an official recount Monday, incumbent Patrick Hagen was declared the winner in the race for Fairfield Township Fiscal officer, voiding the need for a tie-breaking coin toss.
Last week, the official count of the Nov. 8 general election by the Highland County Board of Elections resulted in a 468-468 tie between incumbent Patrick Hagen and challenger Tracy Evans. Ohio law says that tied races are to be decided by a coin toss, or the drawing of cards or straws.
In previous years, the tie-breaking was done following the re-count when a tie has been certified. However, the Ohio Secretary of State's Office informed the board of elections last week that they should perform the coin toss before the re-count.
On Wednesday, the Highland County Board of Elections met in a special session for the official coin toss. The candidates' names were put into a hat to determine who would call the toss. A name was drawn out by an impartial person not affiliated with the board or the candidates. Evans won the right to call the toss, calling "heads," and she won the toss.
According to Steve Witham, of the Highland County Board of Elections, during the re-count of provisionals and absentee ballots it was found that a ballot for Evans had been counted twice, so Hagen won the race by one vote.
Additionally, a tied race on a Greenfield ballot issue was defeated during the official recount.
On election night, unofficial results had the Natural Gas Aggregation issue passing with 408 votes for and 405 votes against. The official count showed that there were 418 votes against the issue and 415 votes for the issue. The official re-count had the issue failing by three votes.
The issue was to authorize the Greenfield Village Council to begin the aggregation programs. Aggregation allows consumers to combine their electric usage and form buying groups. Group purchasing, or aggregation, may allow consumers to secure greater buying power in a competitive market. The program leverages the combined buying power of homeowners to deliver lower cost electricity. The programs were expected to start in early 2012. Opt-out aggregation is a program that automatically enrolls all local residents, unless they choose not to be included.
Voters passed the electric aggregation issue.
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