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.
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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 …
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11:22 am on Saturday, December 3, 2011
Kent has a history of close elections, going past the recent coin-toss mayoral decision back to the 1860s, when mayor John Thompson beat runner-up Luther Parmelee by 2 votes. (I'm no historian; I researched that factoid when writing 60 Hikes/Cleveland.) I think it's a loud & clear reminder that regardless of what the tally is, an elected official is there to SERVE ALL constituents. Ferrara can … more ›
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…
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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…
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1:10 pm on Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Great point Chris. I sure hope Long wins the election! more ›
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 …
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1:01 pm on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
While people may not want to share their voting record in a public forum this definitely could change the results. It would be interesting to hear from people who cast votes based on issues (e.g. perceptions of the developer who bought the hotel; the types of businesses being attracted and the types being discouraged by rents). more ›
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 …
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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 …
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Alan Goldstein
5:56 pm on Monday, December 5, 2011
Congrats Garret! more ›