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Subscribe to RSSSometimes a little luck goes a long way in politics. The new mayor of a small town in Utah was sworn in last week after his name was drawn from a wicker basket.
Ed Chavez Jr. took over as mayor of Helper, a town of 2,000 about 110 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, after his name was picked in a blind draw.
"I was kind of shocked that I was the one whose name was drawn," Chavez told NBC affiliate KSL.
Helper's current mayor, Dean Armstrong, resigned from office Feb. 23 after he was arrested in his second drunken driving offense during his term, KSL reported.
Helper's City Council tried to pick a mayor to complete Armstrong's current term Thursday night, but with Chavez and City Councilman Kirk Mascaro deadlocked at two votes each, the wicker basket came out.
KSL reported that each candidate's name was written on a slip of paper and placed in the basket. Helper's municipal attorney then made the pick, with Chavez coming out the winner.
KSL said he'll serve out the remainder of Armstrong's term, which runs until January 2014. Chavez retired from the Carbon County Sheriff's office recently after 25 years. He previously served on the City Council in nearby Wellington for 15 years and was chairman of the Carbon County Democratic Party for five years, KSL said.
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What happens if the mayor doesn't want to change his name?
I didn't interpret it that way...funny
Q: What's the difference between "wicker basket" and wicker box?"
A: "Wicker basket" is something you use to carry a picnic lunch. "Wicker box" is what Elmer Fudd wants to do to Lady Gaga.
@Denver bill that was some funny stick right there thank you
A town in which the former Mayor was ousted after two DUIs and only four people show up to the resulting Mayoral election . . .
City council voted... read the article please... basket or pulling straws... they have a mayor... and that is what really counts in the end. Glad they ousted the current after two DUI's.
But it took TWO DUIs to get him out.
Nice to see so many with reading comprehension skills ~sarc~
...zzZ
Maybe getting rid of campaigning and just awarding political offices by lottery is the solution.
I don't really consider drawing his name to be "luck." It was going to be him or the other guy. It's not very surprising. If they had a drawing for a vacation and they pulled out the mayor's name when everyone in the town had their name in he basket, that would be luck. Just my thought.
It's kinda like how we pick our President. The only difference is that we have to reach into a toilet bowl instead of a wicker basket.
And the resulting selection is a lot less $H!TTY.
This is probably how we should choose all of our elected officials. Even the President. Especially the President.
With only two names in the basket how can Mr. Chavez be shocked that his name was pulled?This town may be onto something here.Coin tosses and name pulling from a basket would save cities a lot of money when holding city council and mayoral elections.