By Max Fontaine | Finally, some real news to report

A recount is underway in regard to the 2016 Bass Lake mayoral election.

A recount petition was submitted recently by members of the Uncommon Law Party. The goal, per the party, is to verify an accurate vote count in the election of Forrest Bunkard as mayor of Bass Lake, said party member Penelope L. Vankin.

“What do you think ‘re-count’ means, huh?” Vankin said.

Bunkard, 48-ish,  defeated self-appointed mayor Carolyn Shee in the November election.

Bunkard, reached by text-message at his home, seemed annoyed, but largely unfazed, by the turn of events, perhaps because he had just awoken from a nap.

“It’s a witch-hunt, that’s for sure,” Bunkard said. “But it’s also comical. It’s like Samantha Stephens explaining ‘The Crucible’ to Aunt Clara, who then turns Darrin into a hanging chad.”

Overseeing the ballot-check is town clerk Olden A. Goodway, who claims this is the first direct challenge of local voting results since at least the early-1990s.

“Ah, the roaring ’90s,” Goodway recounted. “Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end. But they did.”

Timetable for the recount result is uncertain, Goodway said, “but there is a deadline, I’m sure.”

Bunkard was unofficially sworn-in as mayor last week at a Bass Lake Town Council meeting. But town bylaws allow up to 30 days — or more — for “disputes of protocol,” Goodway said.

“I don’t know if ‘disputes of protocol’ is the actual term, I’m just paraphrasing,” he said. “I’ll check into it later. Right now, I’m focused on the tabulation process, and I need to recharge my TI-35.”