News

Rochester voters elect dead man

Photo: Comstock, Photos.com

Nov 8, 2012 at 6:48 am

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KNSI) The president of the Rochester City Council has won re-election _ even though he's been dead for four months.

The late Dennis Hanson won 51 percent of the vote Tuesday, defeating a challenger and a write-in candidate. Hanson filed for re-election in May but died of a brain aneurysm in June. State law prohibited his name from being taken off the ballot.

Hanson's supporters say they campaigned on his behalf to give voters a new election with a choice of candidates. Rochester now will have a special election, likely in early April, to fill Hanson's seat.

John Eckerman, who led the Hanson campaign, says it was never about a ``sympathy vote'' but was instead about giving voters a choice. Hanson had been council president since 2008.