Hat drawing determines Niles 2nd Ward race
NILES, Mich. -- It was literally the luck of the draw today for who would become the Niles 2nd Ward Councilman. After a tie last week, incumbent Robert Durm and candidate Travis Timm had to leave their fates up to paper slips in a hat.
Ultimately, Timm pulled out the “elected” slip but it’s not over quite yet.
“It’s exhilarating I mean it’s very exciting I didn’t know what to expect,” Timm said. “This is very much a luck of the draw sort of thing at this point it’s definitely a bizarre situation.”
Councilman Robert Durm went straight to file for a recount following the draw.
“Certainly there’s a sense of disappointment but also a little bit of relief,” Durm said. “It’s been harrowing the last week waiting to find out.”
Now? We have to continue to wait for the final results and it’s not exactly clear when we’ll have them. Niles Mayor Nick Shelton said in a tweet that the recount will happen Tuesday, Nov. 20.
The initial word is that the Ward 2 recount will occur on Tuesday, November 20th. Stay tuned for more details.
— Nick Shelton (@MayorShelton) November 14, 2018
Today, incumbent councilman, Bob Durm requested a recount after selecting “Not Elected” during the tie-breaker. Candidate, Travis Timm selected “Elected.”
“It’s a $50 fee and I think either candidate who would have lost the draw would have asked for a recount,” Durm said.
The midterm election results showed 377 votes for Timm and 377 votes fro Durm. With such a close race, the recount puts everything back up in the air for who will ultimately win the 2nd ward council seat.
“I honestly don’t know what to expect and I’ve never been part of a recount before,” Timm said.
The results could also shake up what kind of businesses can pop up shop in Niles moving forward. Monday Councilman Durm voted to ban future marijuana businesses in the city.
“I thought we needed to have strict controls on it until the state decided how things we’re gonna go,” Durm said. “Until we’re crystal clear on how things are gonna work out I think we need to take our time.”
Timm on the other hand wants to give the people of Niles what they want; Last week 52% of voters said yes to recreational marijuana.
“I think the citizen’s vote spoke for itself and I think we’ll certainly see some changes,” Timm said. “I’m here to do the citizens will so to speak.”