Coin could break Sturgeon tie

The unofficial results are in, and the mayoral race in Sturgeon is no closer to being decided than it was before election day.

If the results still show a tie when they are certified by the Boone County

Clerk’s office, the race between Paul Heywood and Danny Joiner will be decided either by a special election or by chance — say a coin flip or a drawing of straws.

“I spoke to Danny Joiner this morning,” Heywood said on Wednesday. Heywood will remain mayor until the tie is resolved. “We were both in shock when we talked to each other.”

Heywood, who is retired, said the realization that there was a tie didn’t hit him until he got up this morning and checked the results, even though he saw them posted on election night.

“Before I went to bed I saw that it was tied, but I still kept feeling that something was going to change, some more votes were going to come in,” he said.

Joiner said he saw the final tally Tuesday night, too. Aside from his talk with Heywood Wednesday morning, it was a normal day of work at Crop Production Services Inc. in Paris, Mo.

“I knew it was going to be a close race after Sturgeon had their debate session last Thursday,” he said.

Both candidates said they voted for themselves, and neither wanted to dwell on votes they could have won.

“I’ve already been hit up with people (who didn’t vote), but I’m sure Danny has, too,” Heywood said.

Joiner said he isn’t familiar with the law, but seemed skeptical of the random chance option.

“I don’t think I’d go along with it for the simple reason that it wouldn’t be fair for the voters,” Joiner said.

If the candidates don’t agree on a drawing of some sort, it would be Sturgeon City Clerk Jean Richards’ responsibility to order a special election.

Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren cautioned that there’s always the possibility of a mistake and that the results will not be certified for a few days. According to the audit done after the election, the number of people who signed in matches up with the number of ballots, and Noren said Sturgeon “did a really good job.”

There were two ballots, however, that did not include a vote for mayor, and those will need to be checked for marks that might have not been picked up by a machine. Unlike Heywood, Noren didn’t seem too surprised by the results.

“In April elections there are lots of ties around the state,” Noren said. “It is not uncommon.”

If the tie stands, it will be up to the two candidates to choose how to proceed. The two men have worked together on the council before, and neither would be completely unhappy to see the other win.

“(Winning) is important, but I still see the city being split no matter who wins,” Heywood said. “I think the most important thing is bringing the city back together.”