SANFORD — Victor DiGregorio’s margin of victory in the race for a council seat has slipped from two votes to one.
A recount has been requested by his closest rival for the seat, Dianne Connolly, who was the incumbent in the four-way race for the partial council term.
City Clerk Sue Cote said the soonest a recount could take place is Nov. 13, after the Nov. 12 deadline for candidates in state races to request recounts. So far, no date has been set for a recount in the Sanford council race.
The number of votes separating DiGregorio and Connolly slipped from two to one on Wednesday, after an examination of ballots that were counted by hand, rather than by a machine. That garnered one more vote for Connolly, said Cote.
Connolly and DiGregorio were among four people looking to fill the partial term that expires Dec. 31, 2016. Also looking to be elected to the term were Lucas Lanigan and Margaret “Marge” Trowbridge.
Official results released by the city clerk’s office Wednesday show DiGregorio with 1,773 votes, Connolly with 1,772, Lanigan with 1,710 and Trowbridge with 1,136. There were also 1,077 blank ballots.
Connolly said she asked for a recount based on the small number of votes between her and DiGregorio. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Connolly was appointed in June to temporarily fill the unexpired term until the election, after the candidate elected to the post, Ken Burgess, resigned in January, just a month after being sworn-in for his second term. Burgess resigned because of his work schedule, he said at the time.
Incumbents Joseph Hanslip and Maura Herlihy were re-elected to three-year terms, with 3,656 and 3,623 votes, respectively. Candidate Steve Bruno came in third, with 3,089 votes. There were 4,566 blank ballots turned in for that race.
In all, there were 7,467 ballots cast in Sanford for the Nov. 4 election. The city has 13,584 registered voters.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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