Amherst, March 30, 1999 -- A tight race came to an end in Amherst tonight as Deborah Koch squeaked into her incumbent seat by one vote. In a field of 10 candidates, only 8 could win; Koch knows she's lucky to have been one of the 8. "Except for filling out the League of Women Voters form, I didn't campaign at all. It wasn't until I read that LWV voters' guide that I even realized that I had competition. I just never dreamed there'd actually be a race!"
Turnout was amazingly low for this hotbed of democracy; only 11% of the people voted. Koch is certain this accounted for her meager 117 votes. That and the fact that she doesn't know anybody here.
There is great controversy surrounding Koch's one vote win. A friend of the gentleman who lost with 116 votes overheard a man in the University pharmacy gleefully tell Nina Koch, Ms. Koch's sister, that he voted for her. Nina Koch replied that no, in fact he voted for her sister.
Others have accused Koch of using unsportsmanlike behavior when she cast a single vote for herself, bullet style, knowing she had seven other votes she could have given. "Hey, I'm from DC, what can I tell you?!" she replied dismissively.
Disgruntled citizens are discussing a recount, and failing that a recall vote. Koch seemed unfazed by this threat and resigned to a possible ouster. "Well, it was only a matter of time," Koch sighed, "before they found out about the go-go dancing 25 years ago."
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