Lathen and Loma get first position on ballot in Colorado Springs elections
Joe Woyte could probably find a study touting the benefit of being the last candidate listed on the ballot.
With a last name that starts with W, he’s used to being last. So, it was apropos that when Colorado Springs City Clerk Sarah Johnson pulled names randomly Thursday from an antique wooden ballot box that Woyte would get the last position on the ballot in the at-large City Council race.
“I was hoping for first or last,” he said.
City code requires that the City Clerk select the order that candidates’ names appear on the ballot by chance instead of alphabetical. A few City Council and mayoral candidates gathered in the City Administration Building as Johnson pulled the names out of the box lottery style.
“There is no conclusive evidence that says ballot order helps or hurts,” Johnson said.
“My goal is to make sure the names appear in this order and that the names are spelled correctly,” she said.
Voters will choose three at-large City Council members from a field of 13 contenders, including incumbent Merv Bennett. There was one late-comer to the list, Nicholas Lee, who was told Wednesday that he came up one signature short. After recounting late Wednesday night, Johnson said Lee had exactly 100 valid signatures – the amount needed to get on the ballot. His name will be No. 12 on the list of 13.
Johnson also confirmed Thursday morning that mayoral hopeful Justine Herring did not have enough valid signatures and will not be on the April 7 ballot. Herring is in El Paso County Jail on no bond, records show, for after being arrested in January after police said she waved an AR-15 rifle at a man and claimed to be a federal law officer. She was among the first potential candidates to file a campaign finance report in November.
In District 2, Larry C. Bagley’s claimed the first spot and Kanda Calef is second. In District 4, there only is one name – Myron Pierce. Voters in the southeast council district will be asked if they want to recall Councilwoman Helen Collins.
Any candidate having second thoughts can withdraw from the race by 5 p.m. Friday, the same deadline for who wants to be a write-in candidate to file an affidavit of intent.
Ballots will be mailed out March 13.
At-large City Council candidate Vickie Tonkins, who will be listed seventh, said ballot position did not matter to her.
“If people like me, if they believe in what I stand for, they will vote for me,” she said.
Johnson used her time in front of the media Thursday to encourage people to register to vote at govotecolorado.com. Voters can check or update voter registration at: car.elpasoco.com/Election/RegistertoVote/Pages/RegistertoVote.aspx
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Contact Monica Mendoza: 636-0187
Twitter @Mendo1987
blog, City Hallways
Colorado Springs City Clerk Sarah Johnson pulls Amy Lathen’s name out of an antique ballot box giving her the top position on the ballot for mayor Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, at the City Administration Building. Johnson drew all the candidates’ names to determine the ballot positions for the April 2015 General Municipal Election. The ballot order was drawn for the Mayor, District Two, District Four and At-Large elections. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Colorado Springs City Clerk Sarah Johnson pulls a candidate’s name out of an antique ballot box while her assistant Emily Evans records the order of the drawing Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, at the City Administration Building. Johnson drew the candidates’ names to determine the ballot positions for the April 2015 General Municipal Election. The ballot order was drawn for the Mayor, District Two, District Four and At-Large elections. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)