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Friday, 20 November 2009 |
By MIKE
BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — A challenger for the third and final council-at-large seat in St. Marys doubled his lead over the incumbent — however both will have to wait for a recount before knowing the official outcome.
Patrick McGowan upped his lead over incumbent Michael Bernard to 906 to 904 in results released Friday by the Auglaize County Board of Elections. The new standings reflect the 27 provisional ballots that were cast in the Nov. 3 election. On election night, McGowan held a 895 to 894 lead in the race for the final seat on St. Marys City Council.
"It feels good," McGowan told The Evening Leader. "There was a great deal of anticipation but I didn't build my hopes up too high."
The final step before the election results can be certified is a recount. Since the St. Marys results and the results for the Minster Village Council race between Paul Enneking (729 votes) and Randall Huelsman (724 votes) fell within the threshold for a recount, the board will do so at 9 a.m. Nov. 30. There were 18 provisional ballots in Minster.
A Board of Elections officials said members will count 5 percent of the vote total in St. Marys by hand. If the result comes out the same, or within two votes, the rest will be electronically counted. If the results differ, more will be counted by hand.
Board members will first count St. Marys and then Minster.
Either candidate who is trailing can submit written notice to the Board of Elections waiving their right to a recount.
"It's exciting being this close," Bernard said. "It gives people something to talk about. It's a win-win situation, I either win the election or I win my retirement." |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 December 2009 )
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