Elections Postponed - One Candidate Gets a Huge Advantage
Oct 27, 2017 20:28:35 GMT -7
chris likes this
Post by Admin on Oct 27, 2017 20:28:35 GMT -7
Elections Postponed - One Candidate Gets a Huge Advantage
Dis-Qualified Candidate Rakela is Now Qualified
Dis-Qualified Candidate Rakela is Now Qualified
GLA Board Secretary and Election Committee co-chair Charlene Murphy pushed hard for a re-sending of ballots to all South Glastonbury landowners at the last GLA Board meeting on October 9th, 2017. Her tone was unusually strong and bordered on anger when Candidate Kathleen Rakela was found to be not "in good standing" and was thus dis-qualified. 22 ballots were already submitted and although Charlene pretended not to know who they were from, a simple check of the return address could answer that question. Over the course of the next few weeks the GLA Board made the decision to move the entire election forward by one month and to send a new ballot to all South Glastonbury landowners. The decision was shrouded in secrecy and details were even kept from the Election Committee. On Saturday, October 28th a letter will be mailed to all Glastonbury landowners and a new ballot will be included for all South Glastonbury landowners. Kathleen Rakela's name will not be on the ballot but she will be a viable and tremendously strengthened candidate as a result of the Board's actions.
Many landowners in South Glastonbury own multiple parcels. Each parcel gets one vote and it is mathematically possible to win an election when just 17% of the landowners vote for you. The cruel reality for candidate Rakela on October 9th was that she stood to lose many votes from landowners who checked a box on their absentee ballot for her and sent it in before October 9th. The dis-qualification of her candidacy rendered those checked box votes void.
Director Murphy seemed to intuitively understand candidate Rakela's plight and immediately demanded that all South Glastonbury landowners get a new ballot. She met with Board resistance but Murphy was persistent. She had a plan but no one seemed to realize what it was.
Charlene Murphy's insistence that all South Glastonbury landowners get a second ballot because "we do not want to disenfranchise voters" could provide the winning votes for Candidate Rakela. Now that the GLA Board knows about Kathleen Rakela's sub-division and all payments are up to date, Candidate Rakela is back in "good standing" and eligible to run. Her name will not be on the new South Glastonbury ballot but she will be running as a write-in candidate. All those folks who already voted for her by checking a box next to her name will now get a second chance to vote for her by simply writing in her name. A shrewd deal pushed by Director Murphy and accepted by the GLA Board will provide a substantial advantage for one favored candidate - Kathleen Rakela.
Candidate Rakela is lucky to have clever and persistent supporters on the GLA Board. Her candidacy just got an incredible boost. All the landowners who voted for her will get a second chance to vote for her again and those votes will be valid and counted. Candidate Rakela owns 5 parcels in Low South and may have voted by absentee ballot. If so, she too will get a second chance to vote for herself and all 5 votes will be counted.
Many landowners in South Glastonbury own multiple parcels. Each parcel gets one vote and it is mathematically possible to win an election when just 17% of the landowners vote for you. The cruel reality for candidate Rakela on October 9th was that she stood to lose many votes from landowners who checked a box on their absentee ballot for her and sent it in before October 9th. The dis-qualification of her candidacy rendered those checked box votes void.
Director Murphy seemed to intuitively understand candidate Rakela's plight and immediately demanded that all South Glastonbury landowners get a new ballot. She met with Board resistance but Murphy was persistent. She had a plan but no one seemed to realize what it was.
Charlene Murphy's insistence that all South Glastonbury landowners get a second ballot because "we do not want to disenfranchise voters" could provide the winning votes for Candidate Rakela. Now that the GLA Board knows about Kathleen Rakela's sub-division and all payments are up to date, Candidate Rakela is back in "good standing" and eligible to run. Her name will not be on the new South Glastonbury ballot but she will be running as a write-in candidate. All those folks who already voted for her by checking a box next to her name will now get a second chance to vote for her by simply writing in her name. A shrewd deal pushed by Director Murphy and accepted by the GLA Board will provide a substantial advantage for one favored candidate - Kathleen Rakela.
Candidate Rakela is lucky to have clever and persistent supporters on the GLA Board. Her candidacy just got an incredible boost. All the landowners who voted for her will get a second chance to vote for her again and those votes will be valid and counted. Candidate Rakela owns 5 parcels in Low South and may have voted by absentee ballot. If so, she too will get a second chance to vote for herself and all 5 votes will be counted.
