Recounting the ballots in Wellington North has made little difference how council will look for the next four years.
At a special meeting of Wellington North council on Nov. 5, councillors approved requests from Mike Broomhead and Lisa Hern for recounts in the Oct. 25 municipal election.
The requests originated following a three-vote loss by candidate Lisa Hern in Ward 3. Broomhead later filed a similar request.
Certified Ward 3 results of the Oct. 25 election in Wellington North placed Mark Goetz at 177 votes, Hern at 174 and Kevin Bodz at 110.
Broomhead garnered 1,181 votes and lost to Ray Tout by 131 votes. Overall, there was only a 222 vote spread between Tout and third place candidate Ross Chaulk, who had 1,090.
Current Mayor Broomhead noted council had hoped to hold the meeting earlier in the week, but that was the only day all members of council could attend
However, discussions had to be held separately because Broomhead and Chaulk declared conflicts of interest and stepped out of the council chambers for the discussion on the mayoral recount.
Little discussion was held on either decision before councillors agreed to hold the recounts.
That portion of the meeting took all of five minutes. More time was spent on how the recounts would be accomplished.
CAO/Clerk Lori Heinbuch explained the recounts would happen in the Wellington North council chambers.
The plan was to hold the recount for mayor on Nov. 9 and the one for Ward 3 on Nov. 10. Heinbuch anticipated the recount for the mayor’s position would take all day, and the morning of Nov. 10 for Ward 3.
She clarified that the candidate, one scrutineer and one legal council can attend on behalf of each candidate.
Broomhead asked if the dates work for the other candidates to attend.
Mayor-elect Tout asked if the mayor’s position would include a full recount. Heinbuch said yes, it would include all 36 ballot boxes.
She added there will be one deputy returning officer (DRO) and one election assistant.
“The same DRO and election assistant will count all 36 boxes,” Heinbuch said. “That will provide continuity in who is counting the votes.”
Tout also asked that the initial seals not be broken until everyone had arrived. That is correct, Heinbuch said.
Overall result the same for Mayor’s position
As the results of the first recount came in, it was clear there was little difference from the original tally. If anything, it showed a fractional increase for Broomhead’s opponents.
The number of votes cast for Mike Broomhead remained unchanged, at 1181.
Meanwhile contender Ross Chaulk gained two votes, moving him from 1,090 to 1,092.
Mayor elect Ray Tout’s tally went up by three votes, pushing his total from 1,312 to 1,315.
The number of ballots cast for Janice Lewis remained unchanged at 157.
One vote shift in Ward 3 ballot count
Results for the Ward 3 recount came in roughly an hour-and-a-half after the Advertiser’s press deadline on Wednesday.
Those results however, showed a one-vote shift – in favour of Mark Goetz.
Goetz moved up one vote from 177 to 178 votes, while Hern’s count went down from 174 to 173.
Candidate Kevin Bodz’s results remained the same at 110 votes.
