Whitefish council race ends in a tie

City Council will make appointment

And the winner is … no one yet.

A hand recount of votes Monday morning in the Whitefish City Council race between Turner Askew and Martin McGrew ended in a tie, county election manager Monica Eisenzimer said.

Each candidate received 696 votes.

The outcome of Whitefish's third open council seat has been in limbo since Nov. 6 when unofficial results first showed Askew winning by four votes.

Two recounts conducted the following day on a different scanning machine put McGrew ahead by two votes, 694 to 692.

John Muhlfeld and Ryan Friel won the other council seats, both by comfortable margins.

State law calls for the City Council to make the appointment if there is a tie vote.

Whitefish City Manager Gary Marks said the appointment wasn't put on Monday's council agenda because there wasn't time to notify the public.

"We're not supposed to amend our agenda [at the last minute] if it's an issue of significance to the public, and this definitely is of significance to the public," Marks said. "It's just too fast."

Whitefish City Attorney John Phelps is on vacation this week, and it's unclear whether the appointment would be made by the existing council or the new council in January. Marks said Phelps will research the issue. The existing council is available to make the appointment at its Dec. 3 meeting if called upon to do so, Marks added.

The Montana Secretary of State's office doesn't have jurisdiction over city elections, spokesman Bowen Greenwood said, adding that the office's legal counsel "says we need to respect local control."

Alec Hansen, executive director of the League of Cities and Towns, said his interpretation of state law indicates an appointment would need to be made within 30 days.

IT'S NOT the first time Whitefish has dealt with a tie in a race for City Council.

In 1995, Ken Williams and Jody Fonner tied for a council seat.

In that situation the Secretary of State's office did issue a recommendation, saying its "interpretation is the tie-breaking is an extension of the election process and needs to be done as expeditiously as possible."

In the Williams-Fonner tie, Phelps maintained the new council should be able to pick the winner. The council used a secret ballot in December 1995 to appoint Williams.

FOR MONDAY'S recount in the Askew-McGrew race, the election department used a dozen county workers to hand-tally the votes.

"It was conducted very civilly," Askew's wife, Nan, said. "They took an oath and it was all very serious."

Askew was in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com