The Middle Keys city of Marathon has a new city council member — selected by a coin toss on Monday.
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Trevor Wofsey, who was elected to the five-member council in November, resigned in January after he was arrested on a domestic battery charge.
The remaining four council members had 30 days to select a replacement. In a meeting Jan. 24, they deadlocked at 2-2 three times between two candidates: Jody "Lynny Thompson" Del Gaizo and Robyn Still.
At a special meeting on Monday, they voted once more and it was a tie, again. So they turned to another method allowed under the state constitution.
"It's authorized under statute — you can flip a coin, you can pull names out of a hat, you can do bingo balls — anything where there's no opportunity for skill or bias on the outcome," City Attorney Steve Williams told the council. "It should truly be a random 50/50 opportunity for both candidates."
Del Gaizo made the call, and the coin fell in Still's favor.
"I've devoted my entire adult life to public service," Still said before the final vote and coin toss.
She moved to Marathon in 2016 after a career in law enforcement in Georgia. She now owns the Tackle Box, a fishing gear shop, with her husband.
She will serve on the council until November, when four seats on the five-member board will be up for election.
