A dead man getting elected as mayor, even when the election was held after his death

For politicians, getting elected is a huge problem. They need to spend a lot of money and effort to get elected, to convince a whole set of cynical people that they are indeed there for a good cause, and will do good once they are elected. What could make it easier for them is if it turns out that the current incumbent is widely disliked, and then people would welcome somebody new. Even then, it is a stretch to imagine that people would vote for a candidate who has died before the election, but whose name remains on the list of candidates. Think about how widely disliked the current mayor would have been to lose to a dead candidate (link to article):

Carl Geary died a month ago from a heart attack as he campaigned to be elected mayor of Tracy City, Tennessee; despite his sudden death, he still polled over three times as many votes as his rival, a media report said. His widow, Susan Geary, said his election "was not a surprise at all to me". "The day he passed away, people were calling with condolences and saying, 'We're still voting for him'," she said.
Local business owners said the vote to elect Geary was as a protest against the current mayor, Barbara Brock. "I knew he was deceased. I know that sounds stupid but we wanted someone other than her. If he were to run again next week I'd vote for him again," Chris Rogers, owner of Lunch Box restaurant, told local newspaper the 'Chattanooga Times'.

Minister resigns after underwear dance

Why do politicians get caught doing things their middle support base would never be caught doing ? Imagine the career and public image of a politician who is evicted from office for dancing in his underwear at a parliamentary office party ? Dancing in his underwear ? And why was he forced to resign ? Because he had lied about it and his leader had no choice but to ask him to leave because of the initial denial:

An Australian state government minister was forced to quit following reports that he danced in his underwear at a parliamentary office party, the state premier said Thursday. Matt Brown resigned late Wednesday, only three days after he was sworn in as police minister of Australia's most populous state, New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees said.
Rees said he demanded Brown's resignation Wednesday night because the former lawyer and university lecturer -- a state lawmaker for nine years -- initially gave assurances that "absolutely nothing untoward" had happened during the party. "I subsequently put it to former minister Brown late last night that there are too many reports of you in your underwear for me to ignore," Rees told Fairfax Radio Network. "He conceded he'd been in his underwear and that gave me no option but to demand his resignation."

Such a situation is incredible gossip mill for journalists, and such a news is even covered by serious media (and not only the tabloid press); it would have been very embarrassing for both the minister and his leader, the Premier.