Rob Pope Requests Recount
Decatur Metro | November 9, 2009I confirmed late last week that Rob Pope had requested a recount in his bid for the At-Large School Board seat, but was asked to keep it quiet until after the recount was completed since there wasn’t much hope that the results would change.
In the meantime, InDecatur reported an unconfirmed rumor and then confirmed it with the city.
I recontacted Rob this morning. Here’s his official response to the recount rumors…
I have officially requested a recount and the Board of elections has agreed that pursuant to Georgia Code (election results being within 1%) a recount will be completed. Many people have asked about a recount and I want to bring closure on the issue and move on with helping out in the schools.
Thanks,
Rob Pope
The recount will take place tomorrow at 10am.
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Can’t really blame him…
I think the real question here is why would you “keep it quiet until after the recount was completed?” Why are you trying to seemingly protect Rob Pope?
Has a recount ever happened in Decatur? Why would you want to keep your readers in the dark about this? Thank goodness for Dave Kell for keeping the community informed of this.
Dave Kell, Real name David Driskell
does not live in Decatur. He lives in Hart County Georgia where he claims homestead exemption and also registers his vehicle. (Property exemption Info available on the Hart County web site) He can not be a voter in Dekalb County as Georgia state requires you vote where you live. IE CLAIM HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION If he is a registered as a voter in Dekalb County he is violating two statutes , One you swear that you are a full time residence when you claim HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION in any Georgia county. YOU CANT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. Don’t know how to get voter info, Might be interested for some one to check into this to see if he is a voter here.
“but was asked to keep it quiet”
I think DM was respecting the candidate’s wishes. Don’t call him out for doing what he was asked. Maybe Dave was not to do asked the same thing or maybe he broke confidence.
I think maybe there is a different journalistic standard when a candidate asking for a recount is a matter of public record AND there happens to be an attempt to overturn the results of an election.
Doesn’t really seem to be the time to respect the candidate’s wishes. How about respecting the wishes of the voters in Decatur?
If Rob Pope was going to ask for a recount then why did he concede on Wednesday morning?
Oh, great Caesar’s ghost! This is a BLOG, Marty– not CNN, ABC, CBS, The NYT, or any other official media outlet. DM’s not being paid by any journalistic organization to broadcast the news– but even so, he’s demonstrated pretty consistently that he’s got integrity becoming a professional. DM is entitled to keep confidences as he sees fit, and you’re starting to sound a bit hysterical, you know? This is not some deep, dark conspiracy– it’s just a local blogger keeping a confidence about a topic, the outcome of which would not have been any different had he reported it any sooner. After all, DM wasn’t the one who called for the recount, Mr. Pope was. If you’re that upset about it, it’d be more appropriate for you to direct your ire (as well as your question about Pope’s apparently premature concession) to the candidate.
You’re right that this is “just” a blog, but it’s also a new source upon which many Decaturites rely. I think whether DM should strive to apply the journalistic ethics and standards as “real” news organizations is a legitimate issue. Reporting that Pope had requested a recount was in the public interest and should have been shared here.
“REAL” news for free! Yoohoooo! I get my cake and get to eat it too!
I’m flattered to be held to such a high standard. One of the problems with being a one-man show is that I usually can only debate myself on issues like this. I guess this is why news orgs have newsrooms.
I appreciate the feedback Jeff and Marty and will certainly consider it going forward.
Marty, Rob has every right to request a recount in these circumstances. Why are you so concerned about it? My guess is that he didn’t want to publicize it because it casts doubt on the race, and he would not want to do that unless there was very good reason to do so. It’s certainly possible that he was being courteous rather than sinister.
I’m actually fine with a recount in such a close race. From what I understand Rob “won” based on the actual machine voting on election day. However, Valarie pulled ahead with the absentee votes. Apparently they were unanimously for her. Someone please correct me if I am wrong though b/c I have no proof of that. I only have word on the street, and we all know that street word is not always accurate.
Speaking of protecting candidates, it was strange to me that Decatur ED TV never got out a video about Rob or Marc during the campaign. It seems that if one advertises that they are going to do features on all the candidates, one should actually do so lest that person appear to be favoring one candidate over another. Not a huge deal, and the person behind Decatur EDTV certainly has every right to publish whatever she wants. However, it is definitely something that I noticed and will keep in mind in the future.
There were 105 absentee ballots cast in that race. 73 for Valarie, 31 for Rob, 1 write in.
Thanks Scott. Glad I asked. Like I said, street talk is no place for reliable news!
How does knowing ahead of time in this particular case change anything Marty? Can you stop it? Is respecting the candidate’s wish of waiting until after the results are in “protecting” the candidate? Protecting him from what?
At least I told you what I knew when I knew it so you can damn me all you’d like. Most reporters/bloggers wouldn’t even tell you what they knew and how.
I’m just glad this provides a chance for one more comments section full of election-related invective!
I think the crux of Rob’s statement lies here:
“Many people have asked about a recount and I want to bring closure on the issue and move on with helping out in the schools.”
My take on it is that because it was a razor-thin margin, a recount (without necessarily disputing the results) is a prudent measure of due diligence, in accordance with the law. I have not gotten the impression that this is about overturning the result in any way. If his supporters (“many people”) have influenced him to ask for a recount–in accordance with Georgia law–so be it. His verbiage of “closure” and “move on” is significant.