By Chris Barge
Camera Staff Writer

NEDERLAND — An auto mechanic who took the town clerk to court after narrowly losing his bid for the post of Nederland mayor in April elections was turned away Wednesday.

Boulder District Court judge Dan Hale dismissed candidate Chris Perret's case against the town. Perret, who lost on April 2 to incumbent Jim Miller, 162-168, had alleged that the mayoral race was fraught with misconduct.

His complaint claimed, among other things, that at least 10 ballots marked with non-indelible pencils must be thrown out. It also alleged that campaign posters remained within 100 feet of the polling place as residents cast their votes on Election Day. That, he said, amounted to illegal electioneering.

Judge Hale agreed that Town Clerk Sheridan Garcia violated state statute in several ways, but he ruled that none of the violations affected the outcome.

"The judge basically said that even though there were technical violations, the right of the people to cast votes outweighed those technical violations," said Judge Hale's law clerk, Stephanie Carlsten.

Perret's attorney, Judson Hite, was "outraged" by the decision, Hite said.

"We demonstrated that the town violated Colorado municipal laws, but I believe we were held to a misguided legal standard, the effect of which is to say no harm, no fault," he said.

Mayor Miller said he was happy with the ruling.

"The election stands completely," he said.

Town Trustee candidate John Williams, who lost his bid for one of the four open Town Board seats by 11 votes, had filed a complaint with similar allegations against Town Clerk Garcia. Additionally, Williams' complaint proposed that the trustees' race was close enough for an automatic recount.

Williams withdrew his complaint before it went to trial.

Judge Hale ordered Perret and the town of Nederland to pay their own lawyer's fees. He told the court he will decide later whether Williams' withdrawn case caused the town undue and frivolous lawyer's fees, which Williams would have to refund.

Contact Chris Barge at (303) 473-1389 or bargec@thedailycamera.com.

May 23, 2002

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