Geneva City Council is set to debate a resolution requesting Governor Kathy Hochul to schedule a special election for the Ward 6 seat, following a rare tie in the November election.
The tie between incumbent GOP representative Kyle Brimm and Democrat Scott Bowes resulted in an 89-89 deadlock, leading the Ontario County Board of Elections to declare a “failure to elect” for the two-year term.
This unusual situation arose from a staggered-terms proposition approved by voters, causing uncertainty about the appropriate course of action to resolve the tie.
The resolution, which will be discussed in the council’s last regular meeting of the current term, states that the Geneva City Charter, which usually allows the City Council to fill vacancies, does not apply in this case.
The resolution points out that the charter does not authorize the City Council to fill a vacancy occurring by the expiration of the term of office.
If approved, City Council would coordinate with the Governor’s Office and the Ontario County Board of Elections to schedule the special election.
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