And then there were two: Coppoletta and Thomason head to runoff

Nov 4 2009 - 1:18am | DJ Nutter

City Council hopeful Ryan Thomason was three votes shy of avoiding a runoff with Lisa Marie Coppoletta Tuesday night.

“When you are three votes shy of 50 percent and others are in the 20s, you are obviously in the better position,” Thomason said.

Thomason carried 49.9 percent of the total vote, needing only 0..1 percent to clinch Place 5. Coppoletta, Thomason’s opponent in the unscheduled runoff, came in second with 26.2 percent. Shaune Maycock’s chances for election ended last night, as he received 23.91 percent.

Early voters were largely in favor of Thomason — 54.13 percent, more than his opponents combined.

Thomason said he does not believe irregularities will be found if the electronic ballots are re-counted. He said there is a possibility a few votes trickling in from over seas could make the upcoming runoff unnecessary.

“A few years ago there was a recount and it did change one vote,” Thomason said. “This is certainly a scenario where one vote could change things.”

Thomason said he has the next few days to work with the City Elections Office in figuring the runoff date. He said setting a runoff without a “finalized vote” could delay when voters are able to recast their ballots.

“I spoke with the elections office earlier tonight,” Thomason said. “They said it would be five to 10 days (before the rerun date is finalized).”

Thomason said a rerun is “another month of campaigning,” and will require immediate re-grouping.

He rallied supporters at his victory party at Jay’s Bistro on The Square last night. Thomason said he was worn out from campaigning and disappointed in the close margin which kept him from victory.

Coppoletta initially said she would not have a watch party due to a 20-year family tradition of watching the results at home. Plans were changed when supporters showed interest in hosting her first election watch party.

She joined supporters at a private watch party at Wake The Dead off Ranch Road 12. Coppoletta said the runoff gives her further opportunity to continue fighting for “strong governance.”

“I want to thank all my supporters for their love and hard work,” Coppoletta said. “I think (San Marcos) is a beautiful town, and I want to keep it that way.”

Maycock said his defeat is both bitter and sweet.

Maycock said he and his wife woke up on Election Day with food-poisoning. He still continued “business as usual” and moved his watch party to be with John Thomaides at Palmer’s Restaurant Bar. Maycock was 2.29 percent away from overtaking Coppoletta.

“I do not think anything really went wrong,” Maycock said. “I do think we need to focus more on getting people involved and figuring out the importance of elections.”

Maycock said it is frustrating mobilizing constituents when the majority stay home on Election Day. Out of 28,883 voters, 2,049 votes went to the polls.

Thomason said students are sometimes unreliable to make an appearance at polling locations.

“If (students) want to have a voice, they really need to vote,” Maycock said.

Thomason said he is similarly surprised by candidates’ inability to bring out larger numbers to the polls.

“There was about $20,000 spent on less than 2,000 votes,” Thomason said. “So that’s $10 per voter.”

Maycock said in a previous interview he would support Thomason over Coppoletta.

— Reporting contributed by Clay Thorp and Amanda Givens

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