One-day social media campaign propels write-in to victory

Maquoketa school board hopeful outpolls the only candidate on the ballot with the help of Facebook and texting

By Mary Nevens-Pederson
TH staff writer

MAQUOKETA, Iowa -- They texted, called and posted on Facebook, and in a few hours Monday a group of Maquoketa residents organized a successful school board write-in campaign.

Although her name was not on the ballot, Debra Lane was elected to the board with 258 votes to 170 for Todd Green, whose name was the only one on the ballot.

Write-in candidates seldom win elections, but in the past they have not had social media networks behind them.

Lane didn't want to say who started the campaign, but they approached her Monday -- the day before the election -- and talked her into being a write-in candidate.

"I'd thought about it before, but I had never done anything," Lane said.

But with just 24 hours to get the vote out, Lane was skeptical as to whether she could win.

"Needless to say, I was surprised," Lane said. "I didn't think they could get the troops organized that quickly. That's the power of (social) media."

Paulette Horner doesn't know how the impromptu campaign got started, but it reached her Monday evening.

"In five minutes I got a text and a call and a message on Facebook. They said that Deb Lane had been asked and would accept the position if she was elected, so I passed that info along on my Facebook page," said Horner, co-president of the Maquoketa Education Association and the paramedic specialist for the Maquoketa School District. "I just thought voters should know they had a choice, but as a formal organization, we don't endorse any school board candidates."

When votes were tallied Tuesday night, election officials found 258 hand-written votes for Lane (Jackson County uses paper ballots).

"I've never seen this many write-ins," said Jackson County Auditor Joelle Deppe.

School board seats were also filled by write-ins in the Andrew and Preston districts.

What happens if Lane or any write-in winner didn't want to be elected? They have to formally resign, according to Deppe.

"They have been duly elected by the citizens, even if they weren't on the ballot. They have to write a resignation letter to me as auditor and I then contact the district or the body they were elected to," she said. That body would either appoint a person or call for a special election to fill the vacancy.

Green had not heard the election results when contacted by a TH reporter on Wednesday.

"That's interesting. It's a surprise, but that's the way it went," he said, adding that he had done very little campaigning because he was uncontested. Green, 40, works at Husco International Inc., Maquoketa Division, and had hoped to "bring a fresh vision and decisive leadership" to the school board. He is not sure if he will run again.

Lane and her husband, Bob, are both graduates of Maquoketa High School. They have one child who graduated from the school and another is a sophomore there.

"It's a good school system, and I want to help it stay strong and keep improving," Lane said.