By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Although no candidates who filed for election were defeated by write-in candidates Nov. 2, a cast of imaginary characters and numerous people who did not file got votes for various elected positions.

City elections

Daffy Duck got one vote for Florence mayor, and his pal Mickey Mouse got a vote for city council. Bob Gayle was voted mayor, and Mary Jean Meirowsky and Matt Williams won their races for city council

A voter wanted “Not Him” for Goessel mayor. Ben J. Schmidt, who filed for the position, won with 61 votes.

“Someone Else,” Mickey Mouse, and Tom Thumb got votes for Hillsboro mayor. Had any of them gotten enough votes to win, they might have served with Donald Duck, who got two votes for city council. Instead, incumbent mayor Lou Thurston won handily with 310 votes. His nearest competitor was Ian Weisbeck, who got two votes.

The outlaw Billy the Kid snagged a vote for Marion city council, as did Mike Connell. They were whipped by Zachary Collett with 264 votes and Chris Costello with 219 votes. Runners-up were Darvin Markley with 169 votes and Katherine Young with 60.

Mickey Mouse and Tippy the Dog gathered votes for Peabody mayor. Apparently Tippy is the most popular dog with Peabody voters this year. In 2019, Spot the Dog and Ringo the Dog got votes along with Blackie the Cat and Scat the Cat. The victor was Tom Spencer with 160 votes.

Catherine Weems, with 124 votes, and Lindsay Hutchison, with 86 votes, were elected to Peabody city council.

Although no one filed for Lehigh offices, Dave Terrell was elected mayor with 13 votes, and Eldon Kaiser, with 11 votes, and Kendall Unrau, Nick McLaughlin, and Scott Schultz, with 10 votes each, and David Terrell, with seven votes, will comprise the council.

Lincolnville also had no filings for city office. Sherri Pankratz was elected mayor with nine votes, and Anna Weber and Cristina Peterson were elected to the city council with 11 and six votes respectively.

With no one filing for Lost Springs city offices, Jerry P. Hanson was elected mayor on three write-in votes, and Trent Hajek, Leah Hajek, and Steven Seifert, with three votes each, and Pam Bevan and Jessica Moenning, with two votes each, won council seats in write-in voting.

School boards

“Anyone But Korie” got a vote for Peabody school board. No Korie was on the ballot, but Korie Hatton garnered 34 write-in votes for school board, and one write-in vote for city council. Former Peabody schools superintendent Ron Traxon also got a vote for school board.

Hannah Bourbon, with 241 votes; Tiana Gaines, with 172; and Mollie Partidge, with 166 votes, won seats on the board.

Wyatt Earp, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Let’s Go Brandon were written in for Marion-Florence school board. Steven Janzen, with 494 votes; Jan Helmer, with 324 votes; and Doug Regnier, with 528 votes, won the election.

Among people not running for Marion-Florence school board who got votes anyway were police chief Clinton Jeffery, newspaper publisher Eric Meyer, and president Joe Biden.

Improvement districts

Alan and John R. Hett were the two filers for three positions on the Cottonwood Valley drainage district. Both won, along with Darvin Markley, who got 13 write-in votes.

Allen Albright, Brad Gorsuch, and Cliff Hodson, all of whom filed for election, were voted in on the Eastshore improvement district.

Filers Ed Burnett, Kathy Schockley, and Paul White won election to the County Lake improvement district.

Although no one filed tor Pilsen improvement district, Kathy Silhan with three votes, Jeff Bina with two votes, and Anjanette Vinduska Godinez with two votes won.

Extension district

The race for Chisholm Trail extension district was won handily by Brad Vannocker with 1,080 votes and Bill Fish with 1,056 votes.

Investigation underway

During vote canvassing Friday, county clerk Tina Spencer told county commissioners she’d gotten a call reporting several voters had voted in an area where they no longer lived. She said the claim was being investigated. If the county’s investigation indicates the allegation may be true, the results will be passed along to the secretary of state or the Marion County attorney for potential prosecution.

Spencer also reported that several political signs too close to Eastmoor United Methodist Church had to be moved or taken down because attempting to influence voters within 250 feet of a polling place is electioneering, which is an election crime.

Turnout for the election was 21% of the county’s registered voters.