Relaxing on a Mexican beach with his three children, the last thing on Gary Agopian's mind Monday was his failed run for District 5 supervisor in June. But when his wife, tears in her eyes, broke the news that former challenger Erik Nunn had apparently died in a plane crash, Agopian was speechless.
"We paused and prayed for the children and for the parents. That was what was in my heart," Agopian said in a phone interview from a Cancun hotel room. "This is a great tragedy."
Avoiding cell phones, computers and other communication, Agopian was unaware that with the runner-up's death, he will likely have a second chance at the supervisor seat.
"I will have no comment on that. It would be very unseemly. What's important right now is to be there for the family and minister them," said Agopian, 50, who plans to return home Wednesday night to Antioch.
State election code appears to dictate that Agopian will replace Nunn in the Nov. 4 runoff election against top vote-getter and incumbent Federal Glover, Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder Stephen Weir said Monday.
Nunn died when his plane crashed outside Las Vegas on Saturday, with his wife and another Oakley couple on board.
Meanwhile, Glover said he plans to contact the clerk's office in the next few days, but said it's too early to think politics.
"I'm just not concentrated on that right now," Glover said. "I'm very shocked that a tragedy such as this has taken place. I didn't Advertisementeven know he was a pilot. I'm just very much in shock."
In June's primary, in a group of five candidates, Glover received 33.5 percent of the votes. Without a candidate garnering 50 percent plus one vote, the first-place vote-getter would face the runner-up in a runoff election Nov. 4. Nunn, who finished second to Glover in 2004, received 27 percent of the vote. Agopian ended with 20 percent.
On Monday, Weir's office forwarded a resolution certifying the June primary results to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. The board will vote to approve the resolution July 8.
Until Weir's office receives a death certificate, the results will remain certified with Nunn's name included in the runoff.
"If the tragedy is true, we'll have to go back and amend the resolution," Weir said.
Once the results are amended, Agopian would likely be added to the ballot, Weir said.
An official ruling will be determined by county counsel. County attorneys are reviewing statutes and state attorney general opinions on similar cases, county Counsel Silvano Marchesi said Monday.
"There's no urgency in a matter of hours or days," he said. "But, obviously, it's so important and critical in the political process, especially in that district, that we want to do this as quickly as possible."
If a candidate passes away within 68 days of an election, the state election code states his or her name must remain on the ballot. For the runoff election, Aug. 28 will mark the 68-day cutoff.
Although tragic, a candidate dying during a campaign is not unprecedented.
"This happens, anecdotally, all the time throughout the state, that someone passes away during part of the election process," Weir said.
The last person to die while running for Contra Costa office was assessor candidate Daniel Hallissy before the 1994 June primary.
Hallissy, the division chief in the Assessor's Office, died of a heart attack April 10. Since he died less than 68 days before the election, Hallissy's name remained on the ballot through the election. Had Hallissy beaten contender Gus Kramer, the current assessor, a special election would have been held.
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