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McCausland recount leads to tie to be broken by drawing

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By Tom Geyer and Kurt Allemeier | Saturday, November 17, 2007 |

McCAUSLAND, Iowa — After two recounts, the race for McCausland City Council between Karen Grell and write-in candidate Damien “Buzz” Koehn ended in a tie Friday.

The recounts gave Grell one more vote, showing the candidates each had 35 votes. To end the impasse, the canvass of the election will be re-opened Tuesday at a committee-of-the-whole meeting of the Scott County Board of Supervisors. A winner of the election will be drawn by a county supervisor.

Grell, who has only lived in the city for two years, said she was happy to gain one extra vote in the recount and have a 50-50 chance of winning the seat, even though she didn’t run a hard-fought campaign.

“I didn’t put up any signs and spent zero on the campaign,” she said. “I didn’t even buy anyone a cup of coffee.

“I really like it here, and the people of McCausland are wonderful,” she added.

“I’ve got a 50-50 chance to win,” Grell said. “Even if I don’t win the hat draw, I tied. I didn’t lose.”

A tie is not unheard of, Scott County Auditor Karen Fitzsimmons said.

“It happens fairly frequently, especially in small towns where there aren’t that many voters,” she said.

Ken Wuestenberg and Lloyd Claussen who ran for McCausland City Council two years ago also tied. Wuestenberg won that name draw. Claussen won a four-year term this time around.

At Tuesday’s canvass, the auditor’s office reported Koehn received 36 of 37 write-in votes, while Grell received 35 votes with her name on the ballot. The same day, Grell requested the recount.

“I asked for a recount because I lost by one vote,” Grell said.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.