Sept. 19, 2018 – Big Cedar Lake, WI – A recount was held Tuesday night, Sept. 18, as a followup to a pair of requests regarding the final tally from the election August 29.
Nicole Gonring submitted a petition along with Troy Zagel, both were candidates in the race for two seats for PRD commissioner.
The original vote from the Aug. 29 election showed Roger Walsh with 197 toes, David Claussen at 166, Nicole Gonring at 163 and Troy Zagel collected 161 votes.
The tally from Tuesday’s recount was as follows: Walsh 200, Claussen 166, Gonring 163 and Zagel 161.
Below is a timeline on how this story played out.
Sept. 13, 2018 – Big Cedar Lake, WI – There’s going to be a recount for commissioners to Big Cedar Lake PRD on Tuesday, Sept. 18.
We have received two petitions from the nominees at the election on August 29. One from Nicole Gonring and the other from Troy Zagel.
Board chairman Roger Walsh asked whether the petitions qualified for a recount under current state statues.
Wisconsin Election Commission said the state statue does not apply to the PRD.
Walsh then read a statement from the Elections Commission staff, which qualified it as an informal opinon and not an official opinion.
“Nothing in Wisconsin stats 901 requires the board to accept the petition and order a recount but also nothing would prohibit the board from accepting the petition and ordering a recound if they believe it’s warranted,” said Walsh.
After receiving the note the board commissioners decided to hold a meeting and determine whether to issue a recount. That meeting was held Monday, Sept. 10.
Walsh said he would entertain a motion to approve a recount from the 2018 annual meeting.
A board of canvassers would need to be appointed, according to Walsh, and “the results of the recount would be treated as the district’s final and unappealable determination of the nominees receiving the greatest and second greatest number of votes in that election.”
PRD commissioner Brian Krebs asked where the ballots were stored after the election.
Dan Carroll, Operations Manager/Chief of Patrol at Big Cedar Lake PRD said, “Those ballots have remained in my custody since that night and after the count was done they were all put in a bucket and after they were read I gave them to my officer and they’ve been sealed in a bag and locked in my evidence locker.”
Side note: The last four minutes of BCL recount Part 1 were of nothing as the PRD commission waited the arrival of board member Chris Genthe.
Passage of the measure was voting by a simple majority present. Walsh stepped aside from voting because he was one of the candidates on the ballot.
Candidate Troy Zagel, who finished fourth in the election attempted to talk to the PRD board after the meeting. “If you could just have a representative from each person who is being voted in, who is on the ballot, watch the count,” he said. “This is all just a waste of everybody’s time.”
All videos courtesy Meghann Kennedy
Sept. 7, 2018 – Big Cedar Lake, WI – There’s going to be a request for a recount during Monday’s meeting of the Big Cedar Lake PRD.
Petitions from candidates Troy Zagel and Nicole Gonring have been filed. The pair lost in an election at the annual meeting on August 29.
Four candidates were vying for two seats on the Big Cedar Lake PRD.
Each seat carried a 3-year term.
The terms of board members Roger Walsh and Jim McGath had expired. McGath chose not to run again.
Walsh was on the ballot with David Claussen, Nicole Gonring and Troy Zagel.
Nearly an hour after ballots had been cast and votes tabulated the results were read by Walsh.
Walsh read the final numbers which showed he finished first followed by a very close second through fourth place finish.
Only five votes separated three candidates.
Dan Carroll, Operations Manager/Chief of Patrol at Big Cedar Lake PRD, said they counted the votes five times.
There were about 300 people who voted Wednesday night.
Gonring questioned if they counted five times, how come these were the final totals they settled on.
Monday’s meeting begins at 5:45 p.m.