By The Associated Press • November 4, 2010
OAKLAND, Md. — Garrett County voters have fulfilled the wish of a county commissioner candidate who passed away 12 days before the election.
The local election board said Thursday that Republican Bob Gatto won a write-in campaign to succeed the late Dennis Glotfelty on the board of commissioners.
Glotfelty was a Republican whose name remained on the ballot despite his death. Local GOP officials initially urged people to vote for Glotfelty so the party could nominate his successor after the election.
The party later endorsed write-in candidate Gatto, the runner-up in the GOP primary. Glotfelty’s family says that was what Glotfelty wanted.
Gatto got more than 4,000 votes, Democrat Bill Welch got about 2,600 and Glotfelty got nearly 1,800.
