Vernon Tie-Breaking Election Creates Another Tie — Council Is Now 6-6

VERNON, CT — The new balance of power on the Vernon Town Council is, well, balanced.

A Tuesday runoff for the 12th and final seat on the council took care of that as Democrat Bill Dauphin outlasted Republican incumbent Bill Campbell by the count of 1,767 to 1,633.

That splits the makeup of the council at 6 seats each for the respective parties. Republican Mayor Dan Champagne chairs the council and can break ties.

Here is the voting breakdown:

District 1

• Dauphin - 363
• Campbell - 279

District 2

• Dauphin - 557
• Campbell - 474

District 3

• Dauphin - 391
• Campbell - 408

District 4

• Dauphin - 419
• Campbell - 452

Absentee Ballots District 1

• Dauphin - 9
• Campbell - 4

Absentee Ballots District 2

• Dauphin - 6
• Campbell - 4

Absentee Ballots District 3

• Dauphin - 15
• Campbell - 7

Absentee Ballots District 4

• Dauphin - 7
• Campbell - 5

The election was staged because a recount produced a tie vote between Campbell and Dauphin. They were the only candidates on the ballot Tuesday.

Both officially accumulated 2,693 votes in the recount.

The recount added six votes to Dauphin's original total and added four to Campbell's, wiping out Campbell's original two-vote win on Election Day. For years, ties were decided by a coin flip, but that has since changed to a full-fledged special election.