By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
As that legendary rock philosopher Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part,”
and none feel that sentiment more acutely today than four local candidates who won’t
know the final results of their races for at least several more days.
The four candidates whose races may be affected by dozens of outstanding ballots and
dozens of ballots that have been received and are yet to be counted, spoke to The 830
Times about how they’re dealing with “the hardest part.”
Val Verde County Tax Assessor Collector Elodia “Loly” Garcia bested her opponent, Maricar Ortega Chattler, by only 22 votes, according to unofficial vote totals announced on the night of the election, and says her race is a perfect example that every vote counts.
“I know how the system works, so I’m just, okay, now I’ve got to wait, sit and wait,” Garcia said.
Garcia said she is “fine” with whatever the outcome will be.
“Of course I want to stay there, but I just can’t believe that it was that close. It was really close,” she added.
Garcia said she has no plans to do anything differently over the course of the next week.
“I don’t really think there’s anything I can do; we can’t get anybody else to come in and
vote, so all I can do it just be patient,” she said.
Garcia said her race should serve as a clear example to voters that each one of their votes
is important.
“I think it so important to let everybody know that every vote counts. Because if more
people would have come out to vote for me, I would’ve gotten that many more votes.
Every vote really does count, and people need to understand that. It makes a difference. It really does,” Garcia added.
Garcia’s opponent, Chattler, the Republican Party nominee and a
newcomer to the local political scene, said, “It’s not over until every ballot is counted, and I look forward to seeing the final results.”
The second race that could be affected by the outstanding ballots is the race for Precinct 1
County Commissioner.
Seventy-seven votes separate the top vote-getter, Democratic Party nominee Kerr
Wardlaw and Republican Party nominee Alfinio “Al” Flores, according to unofficial
results announced on the night of the election.
Flores, contacted by phone Saturday, joked he hasn’t known what
to do with himself after
work in the last few days after spending so much time campaigning over the course of the
last year.
“I would like to wait until everything is done and all the ballots counted to see what the
results are. Sometimes nothing changes (because of outstanding ballots), but you never
know, and if it’s in God’s plan for me to be in there, I’m ready, and if it’s not, I’m ready
for that too,” he said.
Flores, also a newcomer to the local political landscape, said he believed he did well.
“I believe I really connected with the citizens, and they connected with me as well, and I
got more votes than I thought I would get, and that shows me that people really trusted me and felt I would be a good county commissioner. I still feel like I would be, but it’s up
to the voters, and that comes down to the number of votes that each one of us got,” he
said.
Wardlaw said he does not believe there are enough outstanding ballots to change the
outcome of his race with Flores.
Wardlaw said he believes that the 200-plus undervotes in the race, signifying voters who
did not vote for either him or for Flores, indicated military voters who may have voted in
the presidential election, but did not vote in down-ballot races.
He said he believes “a huge percentage” of the outstanding ballots are of the same type –
military voters who won’t vote down-ballot.
“I think that pattern will continue,” Wardlaw said. “I don’t think it can happen. . . I am not going to lose sleep over it, and I’m just not going
to worry,” Wardlaw added.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
