MIDVALE, Utah — At some point, everyone has used a coin toss to make a decision, but in Midvale, it was heads or tails to choose the city's new Mayor.
The city was forced to look for a new leader after former mayor Marcus Stevenson resigned suddenly last month for personal reasons.
Tuesday’s city council meeting began with 11 candidates for the open job, with interim mayor Paul Glover receiving two votes, while three other candidates each received one vote, tying for a spot in the final round.
That’s when a good ol’ coin came into play.
Utah state law requires an initial vote, and if one candidate receives a three-vote majority, that person becomes mayor. If no one receives that majority then there's a tie and…
“State code says any ties have to be settled by a coin toss,” explained city manager Matt Dahl.
Rori Anderson, the city's human resources director, had the honor of tossing the coin.
“A long time ago we did do a coin toss for another one," she said. "It was just one coin toss and this time we had multiple coin tosses. It was interesting."
During the final round, Dustin Gettel went on to win a majority 3-2 vote and was crowned Midvale’s new mayor.
“I was surprised but humbled," said new Mayor Gettel, "at the same time. I really thank the city council. They had a very difficult decision to make.”
