On Tuesday, 353 voters came out to the polls to do their civic duty by electing four new council members for the city of Keyser. Listed as candidates on the ballot for these four contested seats were: Isaac Alt, James Endler, Ed Miller, William Rhodes, and David Sowers.
Interestingly enough, though voters could vote for up to four of the aspirants, the average voter only chose to punch three names their ballot, which means that many residents used a bit of strategy. Or was it really strategy? Perhaps many only voted for one or two of the listed choices so as not cancel-out the vote for the council contender that they supported most.
The results were very close in this incumbent-free race. When the dust settled, it was a close race and all five of the candidates found that they were named on at least 46% of the ballots. The final tally went like this: Rhodes 73%, Miller 67%, Sowers 66%, Endler 63%, and Alt at a very respectable 46%.
While nothing is for sure when citizens step into the booth and exercise their right to vote, elections such as this contest are extremely tricky if for no other reason than one can choose to vote for one, two, three or four candidates. All five men ought be commended for the way they ran their campaigns in both the primary and during the days leading up to this past Tuesday.
Now comes the hard part:  it’s time for the four highest vote getters to assume their chairs in the city council chamber and assume the duties that the voters have entrusted them to perform.  To be certain, there are sure to be some very interesting meetings and issues in the very near future. One of the first tasks for these gentlemen will be the chore of appointing of their own peer to fill George  Chidester’s seat that has been vacant for nearly a year. This should not be a long, drawn-out process (under the guise of trying to solicit and filter through letters of interest, and conducting “behind the door” interviews.) nor should it come without some public discussion on the matter.
Because of the timing of the Chidester resignation, it was known prior to the primary that though only fours seats were on the ballot, there were actually five seats open. It is our opinion that anybody who wishes to fill Chidester’s seat should have at least been on the primary ballot. Many questions should immediately arise if someone new decides to come forward now and toss their hat in the ring for this seat. The biggest question should be: “Why did they decide not run for the post months ago?” Not enough time? Fear of losing? Can’t handle pressure? Can’t handle criticism? Can’t handle being in public?
The short list of “possible appointees” should come right off the election ballots and should include: Primary winner Sonny Alt (who appeared on 37% of all primary ballots cast), as well as current councilman Marques Rice, former mayor Roger Newlin, and Potomac State College professor Steve Smoot who earned 33, 32, and 31 percent of votes respectively.
This is an important decision and one that should be discussed in opensession with public input. Even if the final selection is to be held behind closed doors, all interested parties should get a chance to publicly throw their hat in the ring and be able to answer any questions that the new councilmen or members of the public may wish to throw their way.
Council will get only one time to get this right, so here’s to hoping that they get started off on the right foot.