Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
On Friday, the people pushing for the historically close Duffy/Stoaks election (which was decided by just 36 votes) temporarily halted the recount.
There were a number of reasons this could have been, but most seemed to revolve around money. The organizer, Susan Skinner, told the Daily Pilot that she was going to check with the recount status on Tuesday to decide whether or not to move forward. The Pilot reported that only Neal Kelly (head of the Registrar of Voters office) could give an official number as to whether or not the recount changed the totals thus far, and that he was out on vacation until Tuesday.
Oddly, the Pilot also reported that no votes had changed during the recount.
This led many to believe that the money simply wasn’t there, and that the recount was simply stalling to raise more.
As I said last time, I would be estatic to be proven wrong, but this really appears to be a futile effort for the stated function of a recount, and likely serves only to be retributive to Duffy for winning the election by keeping the close race in the headlines.
I would bet that the recount does not continue on Tuesday, and that we receive word that less than a handful of the 11 challenged ballots are flipped.
