On December 2, more than seven hours into the recount for the the Ward 6 Ward Councilor race, Election Commissioner John McDermott announced the results:
Martha Bixby had prevailed over Lisa Gordon by fifteen votes (1324 to 1309). The margin had narrowed from when Martha Bixby had defeated Lisa Gordon by a margin of 23 votes (1310 to 1287) in the November 7 election.
Soon thereafter, Martha Bixby spoke to Fig City News about the election, saying “The will of the voters was carried through.” And she said, “I’m grateful for everyone who spent time today. It was a long day and took a tremendous amount of work.” She said she recognized this was a very close election and said she was committed to working with and hearing from everyone. She said she is looking forward to assisting constituents and getting to know new City Council colleagues.
Speaking to the group at Drucker Auditorium after the Commission announced the result, Lisa Gordon and Martha Bixby each expressed their appreciation for everyone involved and highlighted the benefits of the democratic process.
The recount took place in the Newton Free Library Drucker Auditorium. Newton’s Special Counsel, Devan Brown of KP Law, guided the proceedings. Approximately fifty spectators observed the day-long proceedings, including at times Mayor Fuller, Councilors Alicia Bowman, Vicki Danberg, Bill Humphrey, and Tarik Lucas, and Councilor-elect Randy Block.
The main participants during the recount were Newton’s four election commissioners –Jan Huffman (chair), Nancy M. Levine, Marjorie Ann Butler, and John P. McDermott — ten election inspectors, and twenty election observers (ten representing each candidate).
Each of the more than 2600 ballots was reviewed by an election inspector, who had the daunting responsibility of determining the intent of the voter — an especially challenging task when the ballot was not marked correctly. The designated election observers were allowed several seconds to decide whether to object to the inspector’s determination. After discussion with candidates’ attorneys, the election commissioners voted on each disagreement about voter intent still outstanding. In case of tie votes, the decision of the inspector ruled. Attorney Devan Brown interacted regularly with the commissioners, explaining the law and providing guidance.
Later in the day, Lisa Gordon sent an email to her supporters thanking them for their support in her campaign. She also thanked all who carried out “such a smooth and professional process” in the recount and offered her “sincere congratulations to Martha Bixby on winning this race.”
Ed. Note: We have augmented our original report of results with additional information about the recount and candidates’ statements, as well as a link to the minutes of the meeting.
