I disagree, Anne. Perhaps you are missing some context.
This quote "put Spokane ahead of Helsinki despite the latter having more #1 votes." or statements very similiar to it were very commonly used by members of the Helsinki committee and especially one of their bid chairs right after the vote as a way of trying to discredit the winner of the election, as if there was something wrong with the way the system worked and that Helsinki "should" have won because they were ahead at the end of the first round of balloting.
There is no other reason to make such a remark because if one understands IRV, then it is at best pointless commentary - there's nothing meaningful to be derived from being ahead at the end of the first round of voting any more than there is anything meaningful about being ahead after the first lap of the marathon.
Re: Voting at Lonestarcon
This quote "put Spokane ahead of Helsinki despite the latter having more #1 votes." or statements very similiar to it were very commonly used by members of the Helsinki committee and especially one of their bid chairs right after the vote as a way of trying to discredit the winner of the election, as if there was something wrong with the way the system worked and that Helsinki "should" have won because they were ahead at the end of the first round of balloting.
There is no other reason to make such a remark because if one understands IRV, then it is at best pointless commentary - there's nothing meaningful to be derived from being ahead at the end of the first round of voting any more than there is anything meaningful about being ahead after the first lap of the marathon.