This is the story of a Strange Election in a Small Massachusetts City called Fall River.
The saga began in October 2018, when its then-26-year-old Mayor, Jasiel Correia, was Arrested on Charges of Defrauding Investors and Falsifying Tax Returns. He had Raised Funding to Develop a Marketing App called SnoOwl but, according to Prosecutors, instead spent $230,000 of Investors’ Money on Jewelry, Clothes, a Mercedes, and his Successful Mayoral Campaign.
Correia contested the Charges and Refused to Step Down. So some Citizens of Fall River got enough Signatures to Force a Recall Election, which was held last week.
The Recall Election was an absolute walloping for the Mayor. About 61% Voted to Remove him from Office. Only 4,911 People, or 38%, Voted to Keep him in Office. It was a Clear Popular Mandate.
But there was a twist. The Ballot had Two Questions: One on whether to Recall Correia, and another on whom to Replace Him with. Five People Ran to Fill the Mayor’s Seat, One was Correia.
It might seem like the height of Hubris for a Mayor under Federal Indictment to Run for Re-Election even as he is being Recalled. But whether he knew it or not, he was onto something.
Correia received 4,808 votes in the Balloting on who should be the Next Mayor, almost exactly the Number he had gotten on the Recall Question. But with the other Four Candidates Splitting the Rest of the Vote, that was enough to put him Ahead.
Yes, that’s right: The same Election that Removed Correia by a nearly Two-to-One Ratio also Returned him to Office.
Democracy can be a Strange System sometimes.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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