A Closer Look at the Local Race Decided by One Vote
“Every vote matters, there’s no question,” said Flatonia’s Mark Eversole.
The 75-year-old from Flatonia is a living example of the power of even a single vote.
Earlier this month, Eversole won re-election to the Flatonia city council by just one vote over Donna Cockrell. Eversole got 202 votes. Cockrell got 201.
The vote was so close, Eversole didn’t even get to celebrate until more than a week after election night. That’s because several provisional ballots were cast in the election and he had to wait until the county’s Ballot Board met last Wednesday to review the 59 provisional ballots cast in the general election, some of which were from Flatonia.
In all, 17 of the 59 provisional ballots were judged to be legal votes and counted, but none of those 17 were from Flatonia, said Fayette County election administrator Terri Hefner.
All of the provisional votes in Flatonia that did not count were because the people weren’t actually registered to vote. Some of the other invalided provisional votes through out the rest of the county were from people registered in a different county, Hefner said. Eversole is excited about
Eversole is excited about the victory, but gracious towards Cockrell.
They sat side by side on the council the last four years.
“Donna was an excellent councilperson and brought a lot of value to the city,” Eversole said.
Both Eversole and Cockrell were part of as four-way at-large race for two council spots. People could vote for two of the four on the ballot. Allen Kocian won one spot with 228 votes. Pamela Stolar-ski was fourth, but still got 145. As far as his priorities for
As far as his priorities for the council now that he’s reelected, Eversole said, “to keep things going and keep things moving, we need to address present Flatonia to make sure we’re building for future Flatonia in terms of infrastucture, police department, roads. That takes planning.
“There are significant issues in the wastewater plant, that we need to addressing today in order for there to be a Flatonia tomorrow. Those are things that don’t normally get the spotlight, but those are the things you need. It’s not flashy, but when you flush your toilet it is important.”
Eversole is 75 years old now, but he said he first voted when he was 21.
“We were told back then that your votes counts and you need to vote and you were real enthused and over the years you really wonder,” Eversole said. “You look at all these staggering numbers of people who voted. But this brings it right back. Your vote does count. I mean one vote, gosh.” “It is funny isn’t it. Fifty
“It is funny isn’t it. Fifty years after I started voting – it does matter, it really does matter. If people did vote they should be pleased and if they didn’t, they should take heart and go out and vote next time.”
More on Voting
Fayette County election administrator Terri Hefner said she wanted to applaud the work of the folks in our local post offices for “being intsrumetal in helping us process our ballots by mail timely and quickly and incredibly accurately. They deserve kudos. They really worked hard for Fayette County.
Hefner, who was working through Veterans Day doing election wrap-up activities, even as the rest of the courthouse was closed because of the holiday, said this election was particularly exhausting because of all the changes required because of COVID, but not because of the voters. “They were wonderful and patient. Everybody was compliant, hardly any electioneering (advocating for a particular candidate in the voting area). Everybody wore masks (when voting early at the courthouse), maybe two or three that didn’t wear masks and they would see others in the hall waiting and they’d go get a mask.”
Eversole & Amtrak
Eversole had been one of the leading advocates in Flatonia’s effort to get an Amtrak spot in town. If the presidential election results hold, Amtrak will have a huge fan in the White House in Joe Biden.
“Not only do you have an administration that would be favorable to rail transportation but Amtrak has gone through an evolution,” Eversole said. “They are leaning more toward short term trains, and eliminating some of the overnight ones, which falls right in our basket, A train going from San Antonio to New Orleans, we’re right in the middle of that.
“There’s no stop between Houston and San Antonio and there’s a large unserved population in South Central Texas.
“Amtrak has looked at the numbers. We’ve looked at the numbers. LCRA has looked at the numbers. There’s a large number of people that would use the train if it stopped in Flatonia. We haven’t given up our efforts.”