CALDWELL, Idaho — The mayoral runoff election is still on in the City of Caldwell, even though John McGee has withdrawn from the race.
Caldwell City Clerk Debbie Geyer on Wednesday issued a statement saying that Caldwell City Code and Idaho law do not provide a "clear mechanism" for canceling the election.
The clerk's office on Monday received a Statement of Withdrawal from McGee, who finished second to Jarom Wagoner in the Nov. 2 general election.
Wagoner received about 47% of the vote. McGee received about 22%.
In his Statement of Withdrawal, McGee indicated that he wanted to bring the election to a conclusion and, Geyer said, "honor the candidate receiving the most votes."
Caldwell City Code states that a runoff election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast when a candidate does not receive at least 50% of the votes cast for mayor.
Under Idaho Code, a candidate's withdrawal must be filed with the city clerk at least 46 days before the election.
"Therefore, the Statement of Withdrawal from Mr. McGee and filed with the City Clerk on November 8, 2021 is not effective and insufficient to remove the name of John McGee from the ballot," Geyer said in her statement.
Geyer also said she had already notified the Canyon County Clerk in writing that a runoff election would need to be conducted.
"Due to the fact that the Idaho law does not provide a clear mechanism for the City Clerk to cancel the election or remove Mr. McGee from the ballot, the determination has been made to proceed with the runoff election between Jarom Wagoner and John McGee," Geyer said at the conclusion of her statement.
The runoff is scheduled for Nov. 30.
In a statement posted Wednesday afternoon on Facebook, McGee said he respects the clerk's decision, but he will not be campaigning for mayor and will not take any further legal action.
"Councilman Wagoner received nearly half the vote on election day. The people of Caldwell have spoken and I believe that they would like Mr. Wagoner to be their next mayor," McGee said, adding that he will be working with Wagoner to "help get his term off to a successful start."
Runoffs are not new for McGee, who is a member of the Caldwell City Council. In 2019, he won his council seat in a runoff against Evangeline Beechler. The Caldwell city ordinance concerning mayoral and council elections now mandates a runoff only in mayoral races, but not council races.
McGee and Wagoner were both elected to the Caldwell City Council in 2019.
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