Williams, Bischoff, Olsen win Libby posts

Williams wins in landslide; Olsen edges Orr by 4 votes

Tuesday’s municipal election for City Council defined a clear front-runner and three candidates who finished within 10 votes, one of whom falling just four votes shy of retaining his seat.

Clear front-runner Councilwoman Peggy Williams won in what could only be considered a landslide as she outdistanced second-place finisher incumbent Council President Bill Bischoff by 129 votes. Williams garnered nearly 24 percent of the vote among the six candidates.

Finishing third to take the final Council position is local businessman Allen Olsen, who owns Antler Tree Nursery on the city’s southern edge.

Incumbent Councilman DC Orr finished just four votes behind Olsen, just 23-hundreths of 1 percent of the vote behind Olsen.

There were 1,779 ballots cast, with the following totals: Williams 426; Bischoff 297; Olsen 291; Orr 287; Dejon Raines 250, and Hugh R. Taylor II 224.

Winners will take the office on Jan 3.

“I so appreciate the vote of confidence,” Williams said Wednesday at the Lincoln County Courthouse just before County Clerk Tammy Lauer and Assistant Elections Administrator Leigh Riggleman brought the results before Lincoln County Commissioners for certification.

As close as the election is, Riggleman said she expect there to be a challenge.

“We have a possibility of a recount,” Riggleman said. “However, it has to be requested.”

Montana State statutes allow for recounts at any stage, but because results are so close, Orr may request the recount at no personal cost.

However, time is limited and since the election was certified Wednesday, a petition for challenge must be submitted to the Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m. Thursday.

Statutes allow for the recount if differences are at least one-fourth of 1 percent separating candidates or within 10 votes.

Messages left on Orr’s phone for comment on the election or whether he would challenge the results were not returned.

Furthermore, as Olsen is within just six votes of Bischoff, he also could request a recount, although that would not change their status unless the recount would elevate Orr’s vote total beyond that of either Bischoff or Orr. The top-three vote-getters assume the Council vacancies.

Bischoff, the City Council President, assumes his post on the panel, a position he has held since March 2006 when he was appointed. Bischoff won re-election in 2007.

“I would like to thank all the voters who supported me,” Bischoff said. “It was a very close election.   I look forward to everyone’s input as issues arise.”

It was a close election and no race was closer than the four votes that separated Olsen and Orr.

Reached at his business Wednesday, Olsen admitted the difference in his winning a seat on the Council may have been his door-to-door approach.

“I wanted to do more, but I got out to about 60 homes,” Olsen said.  “It’s not very much, but it may have accounted for the four votes. I guess it was enough.”

Like many, Olsen said he has been a student of city government, and he is a frequent attendee at meetings.

“I defintely felt good about my chances,” Olsen said. “I have disagreed with the Council in the past, but I hope we can come together and work to better the city.

“Finally, I’d like to issue a big thank-you to the everyone who voted for me. I appreciate it,” Olsen said.

Upon certification of the election, Presiding Commissioner Marianne Roose said she likes the mail-in ballot because it increases voter turnout.

“We get such a better turnout,” Roose said. “It sends such a (better)  local message. I can tell you the Board of Commissioners is for it, and it offers a cost savings to the tax payers.”

In Libby, 56.3 percent of active registered voters participated in the election. Here are the other vote percentages: Eureka, 50.7 percent; Rexford, 70.5 percent; and Troy, 67.4 percent.

Active voters are those with current voter registration cards. Some registered voters have allowed their cards to lapse and are not considered active. Inactive voters need only reactivate their status at the Clerk’s Office.

Riggleman, the assistant election officer, said Wednesday she received two Libby ballots by mail in the morning mail. Unfortunately, she said, those ballots cannot be counted as they needed to be in the Clerk’s Office by 8 p.m. Tuesday.