Photo Finish!

At the Democratic gathering the evening of the November election there were mixed emotions. Everyone was naturally elated by the Obama landslide, and when Council incumbent Bob Conley won early, a sweep was anticipated.

It was not to be. The race for an open Council seat, between Democrat Dan Dunham and Republican Jerry Stevenson, was neck and neck, and as the night grew long, Stevenson eked out an apparent 42 vote win. Dunham had worked hard for the job, and in his 'concession' speech to the group, he was visibly spent, emotionally and physically. Then Councilman John Elias stepped to the podium.

"This thing is far from over, folks. Forty-two votes is a razor-thin margin, write-ins are still coming in, and we will challenge this result." I don't know if Dan Dunham believed him; I don't know if anyone else really did, but WAS HE EVER ON THE MONEY!

As of this writing the final tally had shrunk to an 8 vote margin, and a requested recount brought that down further, to just a single vote!

Dunham has petitioned state Superior Court to count four more votes -- three provisional votes and one absentee ballot. The absentee ballot specified a vote for "all Democratic candidates" but did not include names, and at least one provisional ballot that was denied was a voter whose name was misspelled.


A hearing could come as early as Dec.19 -- HANG IN THERE DAN BOY!!