April
2 aldermanic elections are finally over, with Shawn Gregory, a political newcomer,
becoming the Ward 2 alderman after the Springfield City Council tonight declared
a tie.
After
a tie was declared, City Treasurer Misty Buscher pulled one of two ping pong
balls, one representing Gregory, the other his rival Gail Simpson, from a cloth
bag. It was Gregory’s ball.
Simpson
quickly left the room, hesitating when Gregory rushed after her, seeking to
shake her hand in a city hall elevator. Simpson said she will not challenge the
council’s action in court, although it is her right to do so.
“Right
now, it’s over for me,” Simpson said. “It’s all good. I’m still blessed.”
It
was a see-saw since Election Night, when Gregory led by one vote. Absentee
ballots counted later gave Simpson a one-vote edge, and she was seated on the
council in May. There was a recount, then a report from former Sangamon County
Associate Judge John Mehlick, who recommended that Simpson be declared the
winner by less than one vote, a result even Mehlick acknowledged sounded absurd
but that was necessitated by reducing vote totals proportionally based on ballots
and paperwork from election judges that weren’t correctly completely.
It’s
unclear when Gregory will take the oath of office.
“Is
that crazy or what?” Gregory exclaimed minutes after he was declared the winner.
“It’s been very stressful.”
Gregory
said he wasn’t sure what he would have done had Gray picked Simpson’s ping pong
ball.
“If
I had lost, we would have looked at all options, of course,” Gregory said when
asked if he would have gone to court.
The
council vote to declare a tie was unanimous.
Gregory had the backing of the county Democratic Party. Simpson, a former city council member who ran for mayor in 2015 instead of seeking reelection to the Ward 2 seat, ran a shoestring campaign. Both she and Gregory easily bested Herman Senor, who lost his bid for reelection after one term on the council.
“This
will go down in history, I guarantee you,” Mayor Jim Langfelder said.
Contact
Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2019.
