"Of course, he was surprised, pleasantly," Nemeth said of his late
father. "But he was deprived of that winner's elation on the night of
the election."
Stunned by the turn of events, Ambler asked if he could have his
supporters run a check of the precinct totals to make sure the error
was computer-related.
"We did check a couple of the machines, just two or three, and they
all showed what the election board was showing," Ambler said. "We
conceded, and I called (the elder Nemeth) and congratulated him."
The correct tally was Nemeth, 10,294 votes, and Ambler, 8,546 -- just
the opposite of the unofficial results released on election night by
local media. Kopinski was still second with 9,098 votes.
Ambler was noted in the newspaper for his gracious handling of the situation.
Under the headline, "Ambler experiences the ecstasy and the agony,"
political writer Jack Colwell wrote in an analysis story, "Ambler,
when he found his judgeship had vanished, could have raised hell,
suggesting that there had been vote fraud and casting doubt on the
honesty of the election process. To his credit, he did not. He was as
gracious a loser as he had been gracious in 'victory.'"
Nemeth went on to win the general election, and he served 10 years as
father. "But he was deprived of that winner's elation on the night of
the election."
Stunned by the turn of events, Ambler asked if he could have his
supporters run a check of the precinct totals to make sure the error
was computer-related.
"We did check a couple of the machines, just two or three, and they
all showed what the election board was showing," Ambler said. "We
conceded, and I called (the elder Nemeth) and congratulated him."
The correct tally was Nemeth, 10,294 votes, and Ambler, 8,546 -- just
the opposite of the unofficial results released on election night by
local media. Kopinski was still second with 9,098 votes.
Ambler was noted in the newspaper for his gracious handling of the situation.
Under the headline, "Ambler experiences the ecstasy and the agony,"
political writer Jack Colwell wrote in an analysis story, "Ambler,
when he found his judgeship had vanished, could have raised hell,
suggesting that there had been vote fraud and casting doubt on the
honesty of the election process. To his credit, he did not. He was as
gracious a loser as he had been gracious in 'victory.'"
Nemeth went on to win the general election, and he served 10 years as