Sometime on or before Nov. 7, nearly 3,000 voters in House District 7, cast their votes to send a representative to Augusta. Post election plus, nearly two months later the seat has a body, but the winner has yet to be declared.

It seems after several months of campaigning, the real race started after the votes were cast and more questions than answers came out of a recount.

Election poll results showed a four-vote spread between candidates, under the 2 percent margin that triggers recounts. The recount showed a three-vote margin and also several unanswered questions pertinent to declaring a winner.

Twenty-seven votes were missing from the Presque Isle portion of District 7. Are the ballots missing or did people in District 7 get District 5 ballots? The district is complex, and the road that encompasses the district is determined as to whether you live in an odd numbered house or an even numbered house on that road.

It is a district in which the boundaries are very complex. Enough evidence has been presented to the elections panel to keep the race alive and well. Several people have been identified as getting wrong ballots.

The Elections Committee met on Dec. 20, and members acted on House District 102. The race was turned around and the winner declared. District 7 was tabled.

After researching the term “sour grapes,” a term used in Ezekiel 18:1-3, it doesn’t apply to political races.

Sore loser reinvented after the Bush-Gore run for the White House may be applied, but it could be argued that both are losers. Oh and just in case a senator from Eagle Lake chimes in, we need only to remember his 1992 debacle to put things in perspective.

Just who is the real winner for District 7?

John W. Churchill

Washburn