Democracy at Work – Spring Lake Park Mayor Race Ends in 1,401-1,401 Vote Tie and The Winner's Name Was Pulled Out of a Grocery Bag

A battle of the political titans. Everything on the line. Who will be the mayor of Spring Lake Park? The incumbent, Mayor Bob Nelson, or the challenger, Halyn Roth? Of the 2,802 residents of Spring Lake Park who cast their votes, 1,401 voted for Bob and 1,401 for Halyn. It was a dead heat. 

And in true Friday Night Lights fashion, there were no fancy tiebreakers. No special rules in place that favored the incumbent. There would be no expensive re-vote. In Spring Lake Park, they go straight to the bag. So I guess that's not true Friday Night Lights fashion. In Friday Night Lights, they flipped a coin. Which actually did happen just last weekend in Oklahoma. 

But that's aside from the point. In Spring Lake Park, they draw names. The names of both candidates were printed on a slip of computer paper, placed in the bottom of a blue recyclable Wal-Mart bag, and chosen by city council member Barbara Goodboe-Bisschoff, who traveled all the way from the 80's to do the honors. And would you believe it? The incumbent, Bob Nelson's name was pulled from the bag. He retains his position. Mayor Bob's reign continues.

I love it when in sports, politics, or any walk of life, things are done the old-fashioned way. In the event of a tie, we'll leave it up to the gods. Sounds like the fairest option to me. Other than a recount, which I would think they'd have done multiple times already before getting Barbara Goodboe-Bischoff involved. Regardless, the loser, Halyn Roth, has requested another one. 

But assuming the vote count is accurate, I can't think of a fairer way to break a tie. The town is divided 50/50. Every non-felonious resident had their chance to vote. If Spring Lake Park is that perfectly split on who should be mayor, why not give both parties an equal shot in a game of chance? 

Personally, I prefer the flip-a-coin method. Coin flips are a little more dramatic. I would also be in favor of a game of rock-paper-scissors. Or perhaps they could incorporate a deck of cards. Pulling a name from a bag should be a 50/50 proposition, but there are ways to cheat a drawing. One name could be on a piece of paper that's slightly bigger than the other. Mayor Bob's name could be creased in a particular spot, or have a folded corner. They could freeze one of the papers.

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I would never accuse Mayor Bob of foul play. I'm just saying… if someone really wanted to, they could always pull a David Stern.

Mayor Bob has been mayor since 2019. If anybody in the town of Spring Lake Park has powerful friends… friends powerful enough to rig a drawing… friends who could have gotten to Barbara Goodboe-Bischoff's family… No, no, no. What am I saying? Mayor Bob would never. Mayor Bob is a good mayor, and drawing names out of a grocery bag is democracy at work. It's small-town politics at their finest.