With everything knotted up in Dacono’s mayoral election, the incumbent jokingly suggests the candidates decide things with boxing gloves in the streets of this old coal-mining town.
“I’m willing to duke it out,” Mayor Wade Carlson said. “And I’m the old codger.”
The Nov. 7 election between Carlson and challenger Larry Johnston is still undecided, tied at 366 votes each.
Today, Weld County election officials plan to verify and count the three outstanding provisional ballots, which could bring the saga to an end or could instead write another chapter in the tale.
“It’s quite odd,” Johnston said of the race’s predicament. “It’s kind of unfolding moment-to-moment.”
The scenarios go like this: After the provisionals are counted, if one candidate has a two-vote margin or better on the other, then the race is decided and no recount will be needed, said Steve Moreno, the Weld County clerk and recorder.
If the race comes down to a one- vote advantage, then a recount will be automatically triggered under the threshold specified in state law, Moreno said. The recount would have to be completed by Dec. 7.
And if, after a recount, the race is tied, then the candidates will settle it with a game of chance – by flipping a coin, for instance, or drawing straws.
“It’s my decision,” Moreno said of what game of chance would decide the outcome. “But what I’d likely do is bring the two candidates in and talk with them about it.”
Dacono is home to about 3,700 people and is in a booming area of Weld County about 30 miles north of Denver. Both candidates said growth was a major issue in the campaign.
“The opponent has accused me of being a no-growth mayor, which is completely false,” said Carlson, who is in his sixth year in office. “People have said to me: ‘Is he blind, or is he dumb?”‘
Johnston said Carlson is “spinning” the growth numbers to make things look better in Dacono. In truth, Johnston said, the town’s population and economy have remained relatively flat while neighboring towns have boomed.
“We’re looking at missed opportunities,” he said.
Johnston said he doesn’t think it’s fair to the voters that a game of chance could decide the election. He wishes the city could hold a runoff election, even though it would cost more.
As for Carlson’s lighthearted suggestion, Johnston is unmoved.
“I don’t think pugilism is going to get us anywhere on this,” he said.
Still, Carlson would prefer the boxing gloves.
“And, you know, I can’t even run very fast,” the mayor said. “But I’m planning on winning, yessiree Bob.”
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
