by Mary Rupert
Nathan Barnes, who was one vote shy of going on to the general election, said tonight he would be a write-in candidate for Unified Government Commission, 1st District, at large.
After a voter canvass and a recount of the primary ballots, Barnes was in third place with 1,104 votes, one vote less than Mark Gilstrap’s 1,105 votes, and 25 votes short of Melissa Bynum’s 1,129 votes.
“I’m just for fairness and inclusion,” Barnes said about his main goal in running. “We’ve experienced a lot of people being pushed away, underserved, they haven’t had a voice. A lot felt left out.”
Barnes said he was in favor of using any windfall of revenues the UG receives when STAR bonds are paid off toward the reduction of property taxes.
He said he was not running to hurt any candidate, and one of his reasons for running is to address low voter turnout.
“People have come to realize that every vote does count, and hopefully we can pick up some momentum from losing in the primary by one vote,” he said. “It would send a message that every vote does count, and we want the best choice in office.”
Barnes was at the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center Thursday night, where there was a school board candidate forum.
He said an ad hoc committee had approached him to ask him to run as a write-in candidate. He said the committee felt since he was only 25 votes out of first place, that he should run as there was more diversity needed for this position, and they felt he was the best qualified, with experience, and is an independent thinker who was not part of a pack or group.
Barnes, a small business owner, served as the 1st District UG commissioner for 18 years before running for mayor two years ago.
Barnes had been a finalist for the appointment to the same seat, 1st District, at large, about two years ago when the UG Commission could not find six votes for any candidate. The position was unfilled since then.
“As you remember I told you over two years ago when you asked me what the hardest thing would be for the mayor, and I told you filling that position,” Barnes remarked. Two years later he finds himself the proof of that statement, he added.
After being asked by the ad hoc committee, Barnes agreed to run as the write-in candidate. The 1st District, at large, candidates will run countywide in the general election.
“The people are fed up with business as usual,” Barnes said. “They want good government. They can’t get it from special interest groups.”
Jesse Hall is leading Barnes’ campaign. He said he was part of a group of three persons who called Barnes. They were not happy with the election results, he said. Some provisional votes were counted at the canvass and some were not, and only one vote stopped Barnes from advancing to the general election.
“It just didn’t seem right,” Hall said.
Hall also said he didn’t think the 1st District, at large UG Commission seat should have been unfilled for two years. “Basically, we have taxation with no representation,” he said.
To vote for Barnes, a voter will have to find the UG, 1st District, at large category, then write “Nathan Barnes” on the blank line on the ballot, and fill in the oval next to the line, he said.
While he understands that historically, odds are not good for write-in candidates, Hall believes Barnes can win this time. In the primary election, the black vote was split five ways in a seven-candidate field, he said.
“The numbers are going to show if a (primary) winner got 1,200 votes, the winning candidate is expected to get around 2,300 votes (in the general election),” he said. “Our question was, can we muster 2,400 votes?”
“We felt very strongly we could get 2,400 votes,” Hall said.
“This is the second time in two years this candidate has lost by one vote,” Hall said. He was referring to a 5-4 commission vote on the appointive position two years ago, and the primary election earlier this month.
Barnes will know on Election Day, April 7, if his third try for this office is successful.
Send your news and comments to Wyandotte Daily at [email protected].
To see previous stories about this contest, visit:
https://wyandotteonline.com/barnes-asks-for-election-recount/
https://wyandotteonline.com/barnes-files-for-1st-district-at-large-ug-seat/
For more information about voting, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/three-contests-on-the-april-7-ballot-countywide/