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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Calkins Back as Mayor

By Matt Gomez
Mountain View Telegraph
    The cards were shuffled and the stakes were high.
    The final result of the contested 2004 Edgewood mayoral election came down to a game of chance— the draw of a high card— at high noon Tuesday.
    When it was over, Edgewood had a new mayor, but it was a familiar face.
    Spectators, county and town officials, State Police and news reporters crowded into the office of Municipal Judge Bill White shortly before noon for the game of chance.
    The rules for the card drawing were provided by Edgewood Town Administrator/Clerk/Treasurer Jeff Condrey. Bob Stearley and Howard Calkins, the two men who ran for mayor in March 2004, agreed to the rules of the game that would finally decide a victor.
    A new deck of cards was unsealed, jokers were removed and both Stearley and Calkins were given an opportunity to cut the deck. Stearley obliged and cut the deck first; Calkins declined.
    Condrey then spread the cards across a table in the front of the room. The person who drew the high card would win, and in the instance of a draw, the cards' suits would be used to determine a victor.
    Stearley drew first, pulling a seven of diamonds from the deck. Calkins then took his chance and pulled a 10 of hearts.
    As he turned his hand over to reveal his card, several people in the audience screamed in excitement at Calkins' victory. Stearley remained stoic, the hint of a smile still lingering on his face.
    In the minute or so it took for the game to take place, the nearly three-year battle for the Edgewood mayor's seat was decided.
    Calkins and Stearley ran for the town's top office in 2004. Election results showed Stearley winning— pushing Calkins, the incumbent at the time, out of office by a single vote.
    Calkins contested the results, claiming that one of Stearley's relatives voted illegally.
    In a one-day trial in December 2004, Santa Fe County District Court Judge James A. Hall found three votes for Stearley and two votes for Calkins were invalid— leaving the election a tie.
    Stearley and Calkins appealed Hall's ruling, and the case remained in the legal system until this month. On Nov. 7, the state Court of Appeals ruled that Hall's finding was correct, and the 2004 election did end in a tie.
    The finding meant that the winner of the election would be determined by a game of chance, like drawing a high card, flipping a coin or another method as provided by state law.
    Just minutes after Calkins drew the high card Tuesday, Judge White read Calkins the oath of office, and Calkins was sworn in as Edgewood's new mayor.
    Because the game of chance took more than two years to unfold, Calkins' victory means he will hold the mayor's post for just under a year and a half.
    "Of course I'm disappointed, but I'll stay active in the community, particularly on issues related to water," Stearley said after the game.
    Stearley said he hasn't decided if he will run for mayor in the next election, in March 2008.
    "I could, I might, I may— it's only a year and four months (left in the existing term), so I may," Stearley said.
    Although Calkins looked relatively calm through the whole ordeal, his voice indicated his pleasure with the game's outcome.
    "I'm tickled to death," Calkins said.
    Calkins plans to address several issues, including addressing issues with roads and schools and giving Edgewood a friendlier atmosphere.
    Getting a sewer system for the town is also a top priority, he said.
    "I won't sleep until the sewer is done," Calkins said.
    Calkins clung tightly to the two cards that were drawn during the game of chance, and said he planned to hang onto them.
    "I'm going to frame these," Calkins said.
    Council nudge
    Three councilors urged Mayor Robert Stearley to resolve the election issue A9