Former president Donald Trump was once again declared the winner of the race to fill the third director’s seat on the board for a rural Oregon fire protection district.
The Hubbard Rural Fire Protection District held its election on May 16 for three director positions. This district, which covers an area of seven square miles, is located about half an hour south of Portland. Michelle Luna and Michael Willis were easily re-elected, but the third director position was left open for a write-in vote.
This election was held in an off-year, as expected. Just 25 votes were cast in a district with 5,000 residents. Most of them went to high-profile figures such as Donald Trump, Mickey Mouse, Snoop Doggy, and Smokey Bear. Five candidates, including the former President, received two write-ins after all votes were counted.
The law required a literal dice roll to break the tie. This was scheduled for the morning of June 23, at 9 am. The five candidates were not present at the roll of the dice, so representatives from each candidate rolled on behalf of their candidate. After the first two dice rolls, Trump, Rocky Sherwood, and Paula Smith all rolled 10s and moved on to the next round. In the second round, Trump’s surrogate easily defeated the other candidates, making the former President the sole winner of the third director position on the board of the Hubbard Rural Fire Protection District.
Local officials say they will contact Trump to find out if he accepts the job, but have doubts. Trump, who lives in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, does not live in or own property in the district as required by law. Bill Burgess, Marion County Clerk said: “We do not have Donald Trump registered with the county.”
If Trump withdraws from the race, officials will contact Sherwood and Smith whose surrogates tied with Trump for 10 on the first dice roll and who live or own property ostensibly in the district to find out if they are interested in taking the unpaid job. If neither Sherwood nor Smith is interested in the unpaid position, it will be declared vacant. Someone will then be appointed.
“It just shows the persnicketiness that we go through when people are doing write-ins,” Burgess added.
At its next scheduled meeting on July 12, the board will decide how to proceed. Forbes’ request for comment was not responded to by the Trump campaign.
