Candidate says he won’t challenge primary results

By Jean Reid Norman

Monday, April 20, 2009 | 7:08 p.m.

Boulder City Council candidate Joe Roche, who lost a spot in the general election by eight votes, has decided not to ask for a recount.

Roche, who previously stated he would likely ask for a recount, said that after talking to Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax, he was convinced that the margin of possible error in the primary was so slim that a recount would not make a difference.

Roche placed fourth in the April 7 primary for two City Council seats behind Duncan McCoy, Cam Walker and Bill Smith.

Because McCoy received votes representing more than 50 percent of those who voted, he was declared the winner in the primary of one of the two seats. Of 3,983 voters who cast ballots, 2,000 voted for McCoy.

That left Walker and Smith to advance to the general election on June 2 for the second seat and eliminated Roche from the running.

“I have faith in the process they use now, that it is correct,” Roche said.

“The only disappointment for me is how few people voted,” he said. “Boulder City does a lot better than 3,900 people.”

Roche said the cost of $350 to $600 for a recount, depending on the method chosen, was not a deterrent.

Roche said he is endorsing Smith in the general election and that he had called McCoy to let him know there would be no recount.

McCoy said he and Roche had a cordial telephone call and remain friends.

“As I mentioned to Joe, as hard as he worked on the campaign, if I were in his shoes, I would ask for a recount,” McCoy said. “You have to know.”

But, McCoy said, he understood the Election Department counted the Boulder City ballots twice before posting the final results.

“Now it’s time to get to work,” McCoy said. “It’s the longest job interview I ever had.”