Denton election tie decided by draw
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By JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star
Dave Shively’s wheel of fortune decided the third open position Thursday on the Denton Village Board.
And 36-year-old Sebastian Carnazzo was the lucky winner.
When a recount of the Nov. 4 general election ended — again — in a 34-34 tie between Carnazzo and Richard Spellman, Election Commissioner Shively called the two men in for a tie breaker.
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Denton election decided by draw
The election for the third spot on the Denton village board resulted in a tie (34 votes for both candidates), so the race was decided by lot. (Anthony...
Nebraska law says the tie must be resolved by lot, or chance. That could be drawing a name out of a hat, cutting a deck of cards or flipping a coin.
On Thursday, Shively suggested using a small metal rotating drum, the one used to determine who will serve on juries.
As Carnazzo and Spellman’s representative — sister-in-law Katherine Sullivan — looked on, Shively put 10 pieces of paper into the drum, five with Spellman’s name and five with Carnazzo’s name. He spun it — back and forth — 13 times.
Lancaster County Canvassing Board member Pat Stephens covered her eyes and drew Carnazzo’s name.
“Good, good,” Sullivan said when Shively announced the winner.
“Do I have to grab my torch now?” she said, referring to the “Survivor” television show method of voting people off the island.
Sullivan said the board needs young people, new blood, and it’s hard to get them to run.
Other winning board members were Mary Kraus and Dean Witulski.
Carnazzo, who is a doctoral candidate in addition to being the village board candidate, moved to Denton four years ago with his wife, Leila. They have three kids: Natalia, 3, Agatha, 22 months, and William, 4 months.
The family lives across the street from the community center where the village board meets, and Carnazzo thought it would be fun to get involved, he said.
He has ideas.
The village finally got recycling, and he would like to expand that to green waste as well, he said, with a chipper and a place to drop off clippings.
Carnazzo, 36, teaches at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, in the fields near Denton.
He’s completing his dissertation on John 19:34, through The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Carnazzo was somewhat the reluctant candidate.
When he saw eight candidates were running for the board, he didn’t campaign, he said. Others were more experienced.
“I was praying Richard would get it,” he said.
But the wheel of fortune spun his way.
Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.
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fearful of our future fate wrote on December 4, 2008 1:58 pm:
It is only going to get worse as our rural population gets older, the demand for services doesn't go away, the tax base shrinks, and higher levels of government keep making so many rules and regulations and items to be complied with. "
Future Candidate wrote on December 4, 2008 2:21 pm:
Really wrote on December 4, 2008 2:41 pm:
Oh Gee Really wrote on December 4, 2008 3:43 pm: