Monday, December 5, 2011
Portage elections board holds recount after 7-vote margin of victory
The November election is finally over for Ward 1 Kent City Councilman Garret Ferrara, who was confirmed as the winner of the election for the Ward 1 seat after this morning's recount by the Portage County Board of Elections. Ferrara said that while he expected the Nov. 8 results to be upheld it was a big relief to have his win certified by the Portage County Board of Elections. "There's always that uncertainty," Ferrara said. "You know everyone kept saying they [the election results] don't change. But there's always that exception. You don't want to be that exception." Democratic challenger Melissa Long said she expected the results to favor Ferrara. "A recount very seldom shows a great deal of difference," Long said. She handed out a …
Portage elections board holds recount after 7-vote margin of victory
The November election is finally over for Kent City Councilman Garret Ferrara, who was confirmed as the winner of the election for the Ward 1 seat after this morning's recount by the Portage County Board of Elections. Ferrara defeated Democratic challenger Melissa Long by less than 10 votes. Look for updates to this story later today on Kent Patch.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Ward 1 incumbent won't know if he retains his seat officially until Monday
For Garret Ferrara, the race for the Ward 1 Kent City Council seat is far from over. The incumbent Republican learned Tuesday that the final, official vote count for the Nov. 8 election by the Portage County Board of Elections — including 33 provisional ballots — gives him the win over his Democratic challenger Melissa Long. Ferrara received 764 votes to Long's 757, according to the elections board. But the narrow, seven-vote margin of victory triggered an automatic recount, which the elections board will conduct at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, in Ravenna. Final, but unofficial results from 21 days ago on election night, which excluded the provisional ballots counted Tuesday, showed Ferrara had a 10-vote lead that wouldn't have required a …
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Ward 1 Kent City Council race results from November general election
The race for Kent City Council's Ward 1 seat is one step closer to having a winner. The Portage County Board of Elections counted 33 provisional ballots today that show incumbent Republican Garret Ferrara has a seven-vote lead over his Democratic challenger, Melissa Long. The provisional ballots were counted as part of the election board's certification of the results from the Nov. 8 election, which had shown Ferrara with a 10-vote lead over Long. As of today, Ferrara received 764 votes to Long's 757, according to the elections board. But the seven-vote margin means a recount will be held to confirm the vote tally. The official recount has been scheduled for Monday, Dec. 5, at 8 a.m. in the Portage County Administration Building in Ravenna…
Monday, November 28, 2011
33 provisional ballots to be counted; results certified
Ward 1 Kent City Councilman Garret Ferrara will learn on Tuesday if he officially retains his seat on council following this month's election. Ferrara beat Democratic challenger Melissa Long in the general election by 10 votes to remain on council. But Tuesday the Portage County Board of Elections will count 33 provisional ballots cast in the ward to determine if those ballots will change the outcome of the election. Ferrara received 754 votes and Long got 744 of the 1,498 votes cast on election day, according to final but unofficial results from the Portage County Board of Elections. There are several scenarios that could change the outcome of the race and oust the incumbent. The race could even end in a tie — forcing an automatic recount…
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Votes won't be counted until the end of the month
The outcome of the Ward 1 Kent City Council race just got a new variable: 33 provisional ballots. Republican Kent City Councilman Garret Ferrara narrowly retained his seat by a mere 10 votes in last week's election, but the provisional ballots could potentially change the outcome of the race. Ferrara received 754 votes and his competitor, Democrat Melissa Long, got 744 of the 1,498 votes cast on election day, according to final but unofficial results from the Portage County Board of Elections. There are several scenarios that could change the outcome of the race and oust the incumbent. The race could even end in a tie if 10 voted for Ferrara and the other 20 voted for Long. Portage County Board of Elections Director Linda Marcial said …
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Incumbent Garret Ferrara's lead is greater than recount threshold
Editor's note: this story was updated with comments from Melissa Long at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday's narrow win for Ward 1 Kent City Councilman Garret Ferrara, who retained his seat by 10 votes, was just enough to avoid an automatic recount based on unofficial results from the Portage County Board of Elections. The incumbent Republican defeated his Democratic challenger Melissa Long by a vote of 754 to 744. Ferrara's 10-vote lead is big enough that elections officials don't have to conduct an official recount — yet. Linda Marcial, director of the Portage County Board of Elections, said a margin of victory in a race has to be within 0.05 percent of the total votes cast in that race to mandate an official recount. Ferrara's 10-vote lead as of …
Republican incumbent beats Democratic challenger
Garret Ferrara narrowly retained his seat on Kent City Council in a close race with challenger Melissa Long that was decided by a mere 10 votes Tuesday. The Republican incumbent won re-election to his Ward 1 council seat Tuesday by a vote of 754 to 744, according to complete but unofficial results from the Portage County Board of Elections. Ferrara defeated his Democratic challenger Long, who also is a member of the Kent Planning Commission. Ferrara, who hosted his election night watch party at Riverside Wine & Bar, said he was surprised the race was so close. "I’m surprised it was close to be quite honest, but she ran a good campaign," Ferrara said. "We’ll evaluate what happened and why it was so close." The campaign was Long's first run …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Information based on unofficial results from the Portage County Board of Elections
The third batch of voting results are in from the Portage County Board of Elections. In Kent, just one race for office is contested and only one local issue was on the ballot — Kent City Council Ward 1 and the Kent Free Library levy request. Here is the third batch of results from the elections board: Those candidates running unopposed in the election on council are: Jack Amrhein, Wayne Wilson, John Kuhar, Heidi Shaffer and Tracy Wallach. Running unopposed for the Kent City Schools Board of Education are Janet Rusnack and Rebekah Wright-Kulis. Refresh this story throughout the night tonight for updated results and continue to check with Kent Patch for election results tonight and Wednesday.
Incumbent Garret Ferrara faces challenger Melissa Long
Only one of the six ward races for Kent City Council is contested today. Incumbent Ward 1 representative Garret Ferrara, a Republican, faces Democratic challenger Melissa Long. Ferrara, 44, first elected in 2000, works as a financial adviser. He holds a bachelor's degree in general studies from Kent State University and a master's degree in business administration from Kent State. Ferrara said previously he wants to stay on council to see through the ongoing downtown redevelopment efforts. "Namely the (Kent State University) hotel and conference center and the downtown project," he said. "I’ve been on the bandwagon since it started, and we’re right on the cusp of making it all happen." Long, 74, is a member of the Kent Planning Commission…
Alan Goldstein
5:56 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
Congrats Garret! more ›