A town selects a new mayor by pulling names from a basket.
Not all mayors are selected based on core values and principles.
A town in Utah has gone with an old-fashioned approach to selecting a new mayor.
A little over 100 miles southeast of Salt Lake City resides a town of about 2,000 residents named Helper.
The previous mayor, Dean Armstrong resigned in February following his second offense of drinking while driving. The city council had attempted to vote in a new authority to complete Armstrong’s term but they ended up being deadlocked.
Frustrated and in need of a quick solution, a wicker basket was brought out and candidates’ names were placed inside. Helper's municipal attorney reached inside and picked the slip of paper with the name of Ed Chavez Jr.
He was sworn in last week and he will remain in the mayor’s seat until January of 2014.
It seems to have been a while since the old, quick-picking tradition was used. In 1987, a Sampson County Board of Elections resorted to the name in the hat method to select a Town Council member following a 21-vote tie between two women. A lady named Linda Faircloth landed the role after her slip of paper was chosen.
