Mitton wins tie-breaker coin toss, council seat

PONDERAY — It all came down to the toss of a coin.

With a picture of dueling squirrels on the television screen, more than a dozen people sat in the small council chambers on Friday anxiously waiting to find out who would take the seat on Ponderay City Council after Tuesday’s election landed incumbent Gary Kunzeman and challenger Brad Mitton in a tie.

Kunzeman and Mitton stood in the center of the room as City Clerk Su Warren prepared to toss the quarter in the air. Being the incumbent, Kunzeman had the honor of calling it, choosing heads. As the quarter came down near Mitton’s feet, however, it was decided — Mitton will take over as councilman in January.

“It is just absolutely awesome,” Mitton said of being part of the coin toss, as it was a “historic” moment for Ponderay. “I think history is made and I am proud to be a part of the city of Ponderay. This is my hometown — I was born and raised here and my family still lives here.”

The pair garnered 83 votes each in Tuesday’s election, which were canvassed and approved by council during Friday’s special council meeting as well. Per state law, ties are settled with the toss of a coin. In doing some online searching, Warren said she could only find two other cities in Idaho that have tied and had to settle it with a coin. Because it was a historic moment for the city, she decided to have a little fun and initially used a two-headed quarter for the first toss — of course she had the pair inspect the real quarter before the official coin flip. Warren said no matter the outcome, it was a win for the city.

“Both of the candidates are wonderful people,” Warren said.

Out of 471 registered voters in Ponderay, 183 ballots were cast in the Nov. 5 election for a turnout percentage of 38.85. If one more Ponderay resident had voted, however, it would not only have broken the tie between the council candidates, it could have potentially changed the outcome of Ponderay’s local option tax. The five-year. 1-percent local option tax passed with 109 yes votes to 72 no votes. Because the tax requires a 60-percent majority to pass, it was just one vote away from not making the cut.

“It shows that every vote counts,” Kunzeman said. “We passed the local option tax by one vote and ended up with a tie, so I think it is important that people get out and vote.”

The additional tax will apply to goods and services within the city, though it will not apply to hotels or purchases larger than $999.99. The tax is slated to fund the city’s Field of Dreams recreation project and a safe public access to the lake via a railroad underpass.

Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger said earlier this week that the city plans to “take things slow” and see how much money the city will receive from the tax over the next year.

“This is very big for our city,” Geiger said.

Geiger’s position was also up for election on Tuesday, and he will remain as mayor after garnering 137 votes to challenger Tara Tribbett’s 35. Also, as Kunzeman’s seat was not the only one up for election, incumbent Brenda Thompson will remain on council as she garnered 102 votes on Tuesday.

“I was very excited by the results — I was surprised,” Thompson said. “I look forward to staying on for the next four years and seeing what impact I can have.”

Mitton, who is also the fire chief for Northside Fire in Ponderay, said he has nothing but respect for the current council and has noted from the beginning of his campaign that it would be great to be a part of a “very well-organized” city.

“I think that is important,” he said. “There are a lot of big projects coming up that I think we will all be focusing on ... It will be great to be a part of (the council).”

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.