On Election Day, voters responded to the call a week earlier in the local newspapers "to vote for the only candidate who was not involved in the (then, still emerging) Sthealth Care scandal." To the surprise of many residents, Mr. Maxwell finished first in the Election Day voting, appearing on more than sixty percent of ballots.
Combined, the three candidates appeared on more than fifty percent of the ballots in thirty precincts, ten each. This made the extremely low voter turnout of nine percent look passionate in casting their votes. When the Election Day votes were added to the absentee votes, Ms. Wolkowitz finished first and Mr. Bubar, the two-time incumbent, and Mr. Maxwell, the political newcomer, were tied.
Fortunately for Mr Bubar, the election was legally taken out of the hands of the voters and was settled by a game of chance. There, Mr. Bubar pulled out a marbled victory, and with it his re-election. I remember Mr. Bubar’s reaction when he saw that he had picked the winning white marble first. He looked as if he had just won a big jackpot. I guess he did because it gave him access to more than $34,000 in School District-paid benefits during his next four years in office. Please note the percentage of not cast votes was seventeen percent.
Next: This year’s election.
