As the adage goes, sometimes, even when you lose, you win.
Take for example Dean of the College Lee Pelton. Three months ago, Pelton lost a race for a seat on the Hanover School Board by just six votes, but now he will likely be appointed to the board.
Debra Grabill, the board's chair, said Pelton's name will be presented to the seven-member board for majority approval at its meeting on June 7. Pelton would complete the three-year term of Mary Abbott, who resigned from her seat at the board's last meeting.
By policy, the board is authorized to appoint someone to fill the vacancy, Grabill said. Pelton said Abbott retired after serving 23 years on the board. Pelton would need at least four members of the board, which is currently operating with six members in Abbott's absence, to vote in favor of his appointment.
Grabill said she does not anticipate a problem getting four board members to approve Pelton's appointment. Pelton would serve until March 1996, when Abbott's original term was scheduled to expire. He could then seek re-election to a new three-year term.
Pelton received 529 votes in his bid as a write-in candidate for one of the Board's two at-large seats this March, six votes short of the second-place candidate and 26 votes behind the candidate who finished in first place, according to Grabill.
Pelton "was clearly a very strong choice among the community and it just seemed to be a logical next step to see if he was interested" in being appointed to the board, Grabill said. Pelton said he told the board he would be willing to serve the last few months of Abbott's term if the board wanted him to.
Still, Pelton said the decision is far from official at this point. "The decision is not mine to make," he said. "I just know I'm being considered."
