A recount is scheduled for Monday to double check the close results in the Oxford Selectmen race.
David Haversat, R, lost his bid Tuesday to unseat incumbent First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers.
However, Oxford’s charter also gives Haversat a chance at a seat on the Board of Selectmen, the town’s legislative body.
As of Tuesday, unofficial results showed voters elected David Yish, R, and incumbent David McKane, D, receiving 1,878 votes and 1,871, respectively.
Haversat received 1,862 votes — just nine shy of McKane.
State election rules require a mandatory recount of the ballots in races decided by less than 20 votes.
Town Clerk Margaret Potts–West said Wednesday that a letter was mailed to election moderator Kate Cosgrove informing her of the mandated recount.
Potts-West said candidates could send a letter to the Town Clerk waiving their right to the recount.
If the recount goes Haversat’s way, the Republicans will have a majority on the Board of Selectmen.
Haversat and Yish want the recount to happen.
Haversat said there were many hand-counted ballots Tuesday, due to voting machines not being able to read the cards.
“That is a good enough reason to go through them (the ballots) again,” he said.
The Town Clerk’s Office records show Haversat and Yish both received one hand-counted ballot. McKane received four.
Drayton-Rogers –- who was re-elected to a second term by 33 votes — said she would like to see Haversat, McKane and Yish waive their right to a recount.
Drayton Rogers said Wednesday those waivers would save the town money.
“I have participated in recounts before and have never seen a change in the outcome,” she said. “We need to get on with the business of the town.”
McKane does not want a recount.
“I don’t see a need for it,” he said.
I voted for Mary Ann and Dave McKane, but I think the count should be redone because the Republicans will try to claim an error and once the results are verified, the Republicans could go back to what they do best, criticizing and yelling at residents!
CrazyinOxford, the election is over….with or without the recount you no longer need to talk up your candidates and talk down the ones you don’t like. If the recount verifies the results, so be it. I would think that Mrs. Drayton Rogers and Mr. McKane wouldn’t want to keep the town divided by having people like yourself continuing with the animosity.
Concerned Citizen you are correct. However you must understand the democrats are very threatened by democracy. This is no different when they tried to take the rights “Votes” away from Board Of Finance members and Mary Ann had to hire a different attorney because the current one “didn’t want to get involved” so it cost the town thousands. The attorney ruled it was unconstitutional for Mary Ann to prevent them from voting. So happy the Republicans took over most of the boards, she is a lame duck.
The pressure is on the Republicans, not the Democrats, because if the Republicans do not cooperate and do things for the good of their party rather then the good of the town, it will be apparent in their Board actions and will be very visible. Trust me, the Republicans will be under a microscope and every action will be identified as such.
As an Independent, who has voted Republican and Democratic, I am looking forward to seeing if the Republicans will cooperate and do what’s good for Oxford.
Let’s see what happens with the recount on Monday.
This article states Rogers would like to see Haversat and Yish waive their right to a recount. We can see clearly that Rogers wants to put her party before the good of Oxford. If her boy McKane didn’t receive enough votes to be selectman she would be the first to cry for a recount. McKane does not want a recount.
“I don’t see a need for it,” he said. He doesn’t see a need for he is scared he might be bumped out.
The recount is happening, so it doesn’t matter who thinks or says anything. After tomorrow, it will be settled. There are less then 5 votes in dispute that were hand counted. Even if ALL 5 were taken away from McKane, he still wins because these votes are not a McKane or Haversat issue, they are a McKane or Yish issue. Haversat cannot pick up these votes because he is in a different column then McKane, McKane can only lose them and if anyone, Yish would get them. Since the difference is 9, 5 cannot win it for Haversat. But let it happen just to finalize this issue.
CrayinOxford is wrong again. Once the First Selectman won by 33 votes. Haversat is placed in the “pool” of Selectman candidates and it goes by the amount of votes, not by the column a candidates is in. Recounts do not usually produce a significant change unless there were human adding errors or machine malfunctions. If Haversat picked up more votes than McKane he would bump McKane right out of the spot. And to be fair, it could also bump Yish out if the recount proved McKane received more votes. So CrayinOxford you have been incorrect the entire time you’ve been posting on this site.
not again…I’m not wrong with respect to the 5 votes. Of course, if there was a machine malfunction, then votes could be wrong, but with respect to the 5 votes, I am not wrong.
When you vote for 1st Selectman, you voted for Drayton-Rogers or Haversat and when you voted for Selectman, you voted for McKane or Yish. There are 5 or so votes that were marked for McKane that were hand-counted, so Haversat cannot pick up these 5 votes because in that first column people already choose Drayton-Rogers or Haversat. The only place for THOSE 5 ballots to go would be to Yish, not Haversat or Drayton-Rogers since they were already voted for. McKane can only lose these and Haversat cannot pick up these, so THESE 5 votes cannot change the outcome.
We’ll see what happens in a couple of hours.