New Ely Order After Gardner Recount Win

With Jolene Gardner two vote recount victory the pro-railroad faction has a slim but solid three vote majority on the Ely City Council.

In an 11th hour decision Gardner opted for a recount of June 5th ballot instead of going to a game of chance. After the election Garner and challenger Mike O’Brien tied with 448 votes each.

Her instinct proved sound. A recount gave the woman a two vote victory and sealed a majority for the pro-railroad faction.

Ely voters repudiated City Councilman Marty Westland in the election that swept most of the new good ol’ boys out of power and put a new slate on the council.

Westland was defeated by Kurt Carson 580 votes to 309. The other council incumbent Tammy Carlgren was also soundly defeated by  Pat Robison 533 votes to 348.

The only incumbent to survive the thrashing was Mayor Melody Van Camp who bested Central Theater owner Don Purinton  478 to 414.

Van Camp victory was the only solace anti railroad supporters could take but it could also mean a bitterly divided city council not only on the railroad but on perhaps every single issue on the city agenda.

Van Camp will have to work with a very different city council than the one that appointed her to fill out the term of the late John Hickman a little over a year ago.

However even without the majority the anti-railroad faction was running out of ammunition in its two year old struggle to seize control of the historic railroad.

Despite forensic audits and increased scrutiny no wrong doing has been found in the management of historic railroad.

So far audits of the railroad have found far from stealing from the railroad, its employees particularly Executive Director Mark Bassett have lent the organization money when they should not have.

In fact it was those improper loans to the railroad the council first used as its reason to assert its control over the railroad and ‘clean house’.

Apart from the bill from the auditing company the only other result from the power struggle was a bill to dis-incorporate the City of Ely.

Proposed by State Senator Bob Goichochea the bill was vetoed this week by governor Sandoval.

According to sources one of the reasons for the bill was because of the incessant public sniping from Ely.