Charlevoix county special election results

"The results have been tabulated. After checking with both the county clerk and the Charlevoix Courier there is some confusion in the exact totals as of 11:00 pm. But the results are something close to:

John Haggard: 299
Ellis Boal: 47
Connie Saltonstall: 333.

If the above numbers hold, Connie won by a 49% plurality. There were 675 voters, which is 17.5% of the total of 3858 registered voters.

For comparison, the total voters in the November Republican primary between Josh Barnes and John Haggard was 776.

We will know the numbers more exactly by tomorrow morning, but the final result might be that Connie won an absolute majority.

Asked to comment by the Charlevoix Courier this evening I said something along the following lines:

* The result is a surprise to me. I thought John would win, and that I would do better.

* I congratulate Connie and wish her the best of luck.

* It was an interesting campaign, and an issues-oriented campaign, something that Charlevoix has not experienced in recent years.

* My candidacy contributed to the quality of the political discussion, as did the candidates' forum sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

* My vote total was well under 10%, compared to the 18% I gained in running for prosecutor in 2004 against a Republican.

* I can't think of any mistakes I made. Certainly I worked hard.

* When I was considering this run, seasoned political advisors said I would do better to run as an Independent not a Green. The results today seem to vindicate that advice. But I couldn't turn my back on the Green Party. It has values which speak for me and which I hope to instill in the community. The electorate is not prepared for them yet. We have always known our task is monumental. The only thing to do is to persevere. Some day our time will come.

In the next few weeks I will write a more complete summary.

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Diary letters such as this one are collected on the 'diary' page at http://ellisboal.org ."