After a recount of the final round of ballots from Saturday’s Democratic firehouse primary, the three City Council nominees are unchanged: Satyendra Huja, Kathy Galvin and Dede Smith.
Huja and Galvin were nominated by wide margins in the first round of counting Saturday night, but it took five rounds to determine Smith as the winner of the third nomination.
Fourth-place finisher Paul Beyer, who trailed Smith by a margin of just 31 votes, had called on party officials to double-check the final count. The party heads granted his request, performing the recount Monday afternoon at the Independence Resource Center on Cherry Avenue.
“We completed the count a little while ago and the result was precisely the same,” party co-chair Jim Nix said.
Nix said Beyer was on-hand to observe the process, and that he called Smith to congratulate her afterward.
Beyer could not be reached for comment, but in a statement released late Sunday night, he said he simply wanted a verification of the numbers to ensure that the election was decided by the voters and not by “understandable human error.”
“The results may be the same or they may be different. But we need to follow common-sense procedure and verify the vote count of the final round.” Beyer said. “Win or lose, I wish Dede Smith and all the candidates congratulations for a terrifically exciting and energizing campaign. Well done, everyone.”
In a Facebook posting made around 5 p.m. Monday, Beyer said he’ll support the three Democratic nominees in the Nov. 8 general election.
“I am looking forward to supporting them in November and I congratulate all the candidates for an exciting campaign,” Beyer wrote. “What a nail-biter at the end, but I’m glad everyone graciously followed through with the procedure…”
Saturday marked only the second year the party chose nominees via the firehouse-primary format, which allows voters to rank the entire field of candidates in the hopes of ensuring that every nominee is supported by a majority. Party officials have said the format allows more voters to participate and ensures widespread support for the nominees. The ballot design came under fire for its complexity, and the drawn-out counting process caused some concerns, but Nix said the party is satisfied with the results.
“It was very gratifying to know that we did it right on Saturday, even though we were very tired,” Nix said. “Now we move on to the general election with a unified Democratic ticket. We start planning for that tonight.”
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