CJ Holl drew a queen of clubs and wound up landing a seat on the Hawley (Minn.) City Council.
Holl and Allan Fenske were among four candidates seeking spots on the council Tuesday. Stacy Riedberger won with 472 votes, or 28 percent of the tally.
Holl and Fenske tied for the remaining spot with 438 votes each, or 26 percent of the vote.
They broke the tie with a card draw at Wednesday night's Hawley canvassing board meeting.
"Both of us talked about it before the card draw, and we agreed that there's nothing to be mad about, no hard feelings," Holl said. "No matter what happened, the city of Hawley was the winner."
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The tie had to be resolved by a game of chance, according to a 1981 Minnesota state statute.
"I'm glad we didn't have a duel, to say the least," Holl said.
Fenske drew the eight of spades, which gave Holl the high card.
"It was disappointing, but on the other side of things, to even be in that situation in the first place is unique," Fenske said.
Hawley residents elected Gary Johnson as mayor, which will leave another vacant council seat in January, when current council member Johnson becomes mayor.
Johnson will appoint a replacement on the council.
"The day after an election, 50 percent of the candidates, like Tim Mathern, Duane Sand, even John McCain, if you asked them would they give it all up to do a card draw the next day, I bet they'd say, 'Heck yes,' " Holl said.
