Gardner picks name out of hat to break tie, chooses new city council member

The election for the second seat in the Gardner city council resulted in a tie between Carey Hanson and Patrick Nelson. Nelson's name was picked out of hat and he will be the next city council member.

GARDNER, N.D. — Patrick Nelson will take the last open city council seat in Gardner, ND.

He earned the spot in a way that hasn’t ever been done in Gardner.

There were three candidates on the ballot for two open city council seats. It’s not often that a small town like Gardner, with a population of around 120, sees people campaigning for a spot in local government.

Timothy Giffey secured the first spot with 18 votes, but things were more complicated with the second seat. Both Nelson and Carey Hanson earned eight votes during the election and after a recount, the tie was confirmed. To decide on a winner, their two names were put into a hat and one was drawn at random by a impartial volunteer.

Nelson was not in attendance to celebrate his, but both the town’s Mayor and Nelson’s opponent believes he’ll be fit for the job.

“He has been on the city council before.He enjoyed it,” said Mayor Todd Kalm. “He was disappointed when he did not get any votes the last election cause he would have like to stay on. He’ll be very excited about this.”

“I think Patrick is going to do great. He is a veteran,” added Hanson. “He has been on the council before, so that is not an issue. I had a 50/50 shot, and someone had to lose. I am the mot gracious non-winner that anyone will ever find.”

Mayor Kalm adds that Nelson is a tech-savvy guy that is always coming up with new ideas for the city.

Hanson says not to worry about her, she will likely run again come the next city council election.