Ash Grove election tie to be decided with game of chance

The Ash Grove Board of Aldermen race for Ward 2 ended in a tie after votes came in April 7. Troy Watts and incumbent Ronessa Williams both received 17 votes. 

The Ward 2 position was one of two contested municipal races in Ash Grove. 

Troy Watts, a former board member, looked to reclaim a seat on the board after he left for unspecified reasons in October of 2023. Watts said in a candidate profile in The Commonwealth, that he would like to see the Ash Grove city government change for the better. 

According to Melissa Mau, city clerk of Ash Grove, the city initialized a recount, with those results coming in April 13. The results confirmed that the race had indeed been a tie.

Where from here

Mau said that there are few options available to the candidates in such a situation, some of which have already been exhausted. Mau stated that each candidate has the opportunity to concede the position to the other. Neither Williams nor Watts accepted the opportunity. The other available options, according to Mau, are a game of chance and a runoff.

Mau said that, since neither candidate was willing to concede, the possibility of a runoff has arisen. This, though, was struck down by the candidates, as it would cost the city about $17,000, an outcome that neither desired. 

The election will thus be decided by a game of chance, which can manifest as a coin-flip or straw-drawing, though it is still undecided as to which will be used to decide the winner. 

“We have not decided when or if it will be drawing straws, picking a number out of a hat, flipping a coin or some other type,” said Mau.