The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1911-12-22
TIFFT'S ELECTION
IS CONTESTED
COUNCIL TRANSCRIPTION OF Mr..
WEINBERG FOR RECOUNT OF
VOTES FOR MAYOR.

Overriding the opinion of City At
torney Sherfey by a vote of four to
two the city council Monday night de-
cided to grant the petition of Mayor
E. w. Weinberg for a recount of the
votes cast in the first ward at the re-
cent city election and fixed Tuesday
evening December 26, at 1880 O'Clock
as the time and the council chambers
as the place for recounting the vote
for the entire city
The petition filed by Mayor Vein
berg contained many allegations of
irregularities on the part of the cleo
ton officials in counting and record
ing the vote in the first ward and
prayed that the council fix a time and
place for hearing on the petition and
to recount the votes. Attorney Sher-
fey declared the present council has
no jurisdiction over the matter Of
contest; that it is a matter for the
consideration of the incoming council
or the superior court. Attorney j. n
Pickrell was present and took the
floor in behalf of Mayor Weinberg
urging that the council has full au-
thority. Following him Attorney U.
l.. Ettinger spoke for few moments
urging the council to leave the mat
ter alone as they had no jurisdiction
After the attorneys had all had their
chance to speak Councilman Perrine,
who had been chosen mayor pro tenn
to preside during the contest hearing
made an address urging immediate
action on the part of the council. A
vote was then taken and the petition
granted, Councilmen Barroll, Stra-
vens, Kirkland and Perrine voting for
it and Councilmen Dreifus and John
son voting against it. Both Dreifus
and Johnson said they were not vot-
ing against having recount but
were following the advice of the city
attorney as they believed with him
that they have no jurisdiction.
Charges Fraud.
In his petition contesting the cleo
ton of J. Floyd Tiff for mayor E.
w. Weinberg, the contestant, makes
several charges in substance as fol-
lows:
THAT not less than ten legal votes
cast for the contestant were wrong
f;.lly thrown out and not counted for
the contestant"
''That not less than six votes were
counted for the contestant were
wrongfully counted for the contes-
tee
THAT all ballots in which a cross
was marked in the circle or square at
the top of the Citizens" ticket, or
column headed by the contestant, E.
w. Weinberg, for Mayor, and on
which there was a cross in the square
opposite the name of any person on
the Peoples ticket, or in the col
umn headed by the contestee, J.
Floyd Tiff, for Mayor, the vote was
not counted for the contestant, E. w.
Weinberg, or any person whose name
appeared in the Citizens ticket, or
the column headed by the contestant
for Mayor, but the vote was counted
for the party whose name appeared
at the immediate left of the square
marked with cross in the Peoples"
ticket, or column headed by the con-
testee for Mayor, although there was
no cross or other mark in the circle
or square at the top of the Peoples
ticket or column headed by the con-
testee, and although there was no
cross or other mark in the square to
the immediate right of the name of
the contestee.''
THAT Helen James, one of the
clerks, became i'll and was compelled
to desist from her labors during the
counting of the votes and at the time
her tally sheet showed four less votes
for ]. Floyd Tiff than the tally sheet
kept by P. r. Duchemin, and said P.
R. Duchemin without right or author
ity raised the tally sheet heretofore
kept by Helen James four votes to
correspond to his tally sheet
THAT during the counting P. R.
Duchemin would give the contestee
credit for votes cast for the contes-
tant and that on more than one occas-
ion when calling out the vote as read
by one of the judges the number on
his tally sheet would differ from the
number on the tally sheet of the 9th
er clerk, but he would insist he was
correct and would prevail on the 9TH
er clerk to raise the number of votes
to correspond with his sheet 1t was
very noticeable that no discrepancies
occurred between the tally sheets of
the two clerks except as regards the
vote cast for mayor
THAT P. R. Duchemin, one of the
clerks, was disqualified to act for the
reason he had said he would do
everything in his power to defeat E.
w. Weinberg"
THAT the said contestant did re-
ceive majority of the votes cast for
mayor in the First ward, and if the
legal votes cast for him had been
counted as they should have been, E.
w. Weinberg would have received not
less than 80 votes in the First ward
more than the contestee, which would
have changed the result of the entire
election and given the office of mayor
to the contestant by a majority of 80
votes"
What They Say.
P. R. Duchemin, the election clerk
In Ward No. /, who is charged with
juggling the tally. said to a Gazette
representative "What Mr. Weinberg