PORTLAND — On a chilly November morning, more than 150 people clustered around the stone steps leading up to Portland City Hall to witness something city officials could not recall happening in recent memory, if ever: A city council race resolved by drawing the winner’s name from a hat.

Actually, it was a wooden bowl rather than a hat and, according to city clerk Katherine Jones and city spokesperson Jessica Grondin, the ceremony that unfolded Thursday morning is exactly in line with what the city’s rules require.

Jones pulled Brandon Mazer’s name from the bowl, effectively ending a drama that included ranked-choice calculations that in turn led to a tie between Mazer, an attorney who chairs the Portland planning board, and Roberto Rodriguez, a Portland school board member and physical therapy assistant who owns a vegetable gardening service.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had one,” Grondin said when asked about the last time that a council race came down to a random draw. When a reporter noted the unusual nature of the ceremony in the digital age, Grondin said, “I think that’s how we all felt.” 

As the crowd watched, joined by even more people staring from the windows of City Hall, Jones announced via a loudspeaker that she had spoken with Mazer and Rodriguez prior to the ceremony, ensuring that all agreed on the mechanics of the event.

Both candidates took a piece of cardstock with their name on it, folded their cards in half, and placed them in the bowl. Then, with the bowl held above her head and without looking, Jones pulled the card with Mazer’s name on it, prompting cheers and applause from his supporters.

The four-way race had gone unresolved long after other races on the ballot were decided. Mazer, Rodriguez, service industry worker Travis Curran and attorney and history teacher Stuart Tisdale were vying for the seat vacated by veteran politician Nicholas Mavodones, who announced in June he was not seeking reelection.

Because there were more than two candidates for the seat, Grondin said, the city was required to allow for ranked-choice voting, where voters ranked their first, second, third and fourth choice for the seat. Then, according to the city’s rules, only a candidate with a majority of the vote can be declared the winner.

Judged by first-choice votes, Rodriguez was leading after Tuesday night’s initial vote count. He had 5,533 votes, or 26.5%, while Mazer had 5,280 votes, or 25.2%. Curran was third with 4,776 votes (22.8%), and Tisdale finished last with 3,480 votes (16.8%).

With no candidate securing a majority, the city used a third-party contractor to tally additional votes using second-, third- and fourth-ranked choices until, finally, both Mazer and Rodriguez emerged with exactly 8,529 votes.

After the drawing, the crowd dissipated rather quickly. When asked if he would be requesting a recount, Rodriguez said, “Absolutely,” but he did not harbor bitterness for the ranked-choice system.

“It worked as designed. It really did,” Rodriguez said. “I’m sure the process to get the recount is going to be transparent. We’re going to have our team ready, and we’re going to make sure that every vote is counted.”

When told that Rodriguez will seek a recount, Mazer didn’t object. 

“I fully support that and we’ll see what the voice of the voters truly is after the hand recount,” Mazer said.

Mazer said he supported the process, including Thursday morning’s proceedings.

“We had an even split. We followed the procedure as it was decided by charter and the city council and city clerk’s office,” he said.

As to the winner being drawn this morning, Rodriguez also accepted that the city followed the proper procedure.

“It’s a game of chance, right? It’s a 50-50 chance, and we knew it was going to go one of two ways, and we were prepared for either outcome,” he said.

At least one of his followers, Victoria Furman, 38, was less magnanimous.

“It doesn’t seem right or fair,” she said. “We vote, we campaign, we pick the people we want, and it’s all decided by a piece of paper?”

Furman said she felt confused by the ranked-choice concept and was disappointed in Rodriguez’s loss.

“I think this is an example of it not working properly,” she said.

Spectrum News Maine contacted the Secretary of State’s office to see if a random draw has determined any other recent political races in Maine. 

Emily Cook, spokesperson for Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said staff couldn’t recall this happening before. 

"Thankfully this hasn't happened as far as current election staff can remember," Cook said. 

The other two council races, for Districts 1 and 2, only had two candidates each, and have already been called. Medical malpractice paralegal Anna Trevorrow beat community organizer and freelance seamstress Sara Michniewicz in a fairly narrow victory for the District 1 council seat.

In the remaining council race, community organizer Victoria “Tori” Pelletier defeated attorney Jon Hinck in the race for District 2.