Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Hurley — With a difference of one vote, the election recount for the Iron County District Attorney race Thursday came down to reviewing paper ballots cast in one precinct in the city of Montreal.
Matt Tingstad, of Bessemer, gained four votes in that precinct to win the election by five, 1,707 to 1,702.
Anthony Stella Jr., of Kimball, trailed by 13 votes when the results came in on election night and only eight votes after a canvass of the voting last week.
The canvass vote count was 1,704 for Tingstad to 1,696 for Stella.
Ironically, Stella said on Thursday he had lost about the same number of Montreal votes in a 2012 DA election recount when he was defeated by Marty Lipske, 1,630 to 1,626.
The five-member recount team had several peculiar issues arise during Thursday’s efforts.
One person sent in a primary election ballot and cast a vote for Elaine Erickson, of Ironwood, who was defeated in the primary election.
Stella said some absentee votes came in from unregistered voters in the town of Gurney.
One person voted for both candidates.
A ballot wasn’t initialized.
Stella, who watched the entire recount until about 5 p.m. at the courthouse, lamented the fact that if only a few of the people who left their DA ballots blank had voted, the outcome might have been different.
He wasn’t bitter in defeat, however, saying he has scaled down his private law practice considerably and his wife doesn’t enjoy politics.
Stella said he met Tingstad for the first time on Thursday, when the winning candidate stopped to check in on the recount.
Stella, a Democrat, said he did well in the areas where he campaigned just prior to the election
Tingstad, who ran as a Republican, said last week he campaigned hard and the election involved the “right timing” for him, with Donald Trump powering to a victory in Iron County.
