Democrat Armando “Mandy” Espinoza will continue to serve on the Pierceton Town Council after the current council chose him Monday over Republican Aaron Robbins.
In the Nov. 3 general election, four men sought the three council seats with Republicans Matthew Brubaker and Tom Barker receiving 71 and 63 votes respectively. However, for the third council seat, Robbins and Espinoza tied with 53 votes each.
Indiana Election Code says that in the event of a tie, the fiscal body – in this case the Pierceton Town Council – is to resolve ties in local office votes. Since it had to be done by Dec. 31, the present council, not the successor council, had to make the decision.
Since Espinoza is a current member of the council but involved in the tie, he was not eligible to vote. That left Democrats Ron Hall and James Bumbaugh to choose the winner. Hall and Bumbaugh did not seek re-election this year.
Espinoza was first sworn in to serve on the Pierceton Town Council in February 2005, filling a seat vacated by Terry Hill. Espinoza was appointed by then-County Democrat chairman Steve Haines.
(Story By The Times Union)
