Judge Ends Springdale Election Debate Absentee-Ballot Dispute Held Up Mayoral And Council Races

Nearly two months after voters cast ballots, a Stevens County judge has decided the winners in two Springdale races.

Superior Court Judge Rebecca Baker ruled last week that the county’s election canvassing board acted properly in throwing out a pivotal absentee ballot.

That single ballot would have changed the outcome of one race for the Springdale Town Council. It would have created a tie for the mayor’s race, forcing the county auditor to draw names to select the winner.

At issue was whether Don Wilma was qualified to vote in Springdale.

Last spring, the town council voted to annex Wilma’s 80 acres. Prior to that decision, only Wilma’s porch was inside the town boundaries; the rest of his house - and his legal voting status - was in the unincorporated county.

In a decision before the election, Baker ruled the annexation invalid because Wilma’s property is outside Springdale’s “interim urban growth area,” a boundary that is supposed to show any area a city might annex. Such planning boundaries are required under the state’s Growth Management Act.

In appealing the canvassing board’s decision, Wilma contended he was qualified to vote in town elections because Baker hadn’t signed an order implementing her opinion on the annexation.

The canvassing board argued that Baker’s intent regarding annexation was clear, whether or not the decision was formalized.

Wilma has said he cast his ballot for Floyd Pope in the mayoral election. Dan Hite won that race by one vote.

In a race for a vacant town council seat, Wilma voted for Vickie Denman over Lowell Peterson.

Without Wilma’s vote, the council candidates tied at 66 votes apiece. The county auditor selected the winner by drawing Peterson’s name from a cookie tin.

The outcome of that council race would have been reversed if Baker had ruled that the election canvassing board overstepped its authority.

Peterson said he “never lost any sleep” worrying that he might be thrown out of office by the judge’s decision.

“We naturally were elated we won,” he said.

Wilma’s attorney, John Riley III, said he didn’t know whether his client will appeal the judge’s decision.

Earlier this month, Stevens County commissioners voted to change Springdale’s interim urban growth area to include Wilma’s land. It’s not clear whether that validates the town council’s earlier decision to annex the 80 acres, or whether the council must reconsider the decision before voting again.

Either way, Wilma was not a Springdale resident on election day in November, the judge ruled.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: AT ISSUE Last spring, the Springdale council voted to annex Wilma’s 80 acres. Prior to that decision, only Wilma’s porch was inside the town boundaries; the rest of his house and his legal voting status was in the unincorporated county.