Newton City Councilor At-Large Greg Schwartz To Call For Recount

NEWTON, MA —After losing his seat of eight years on the city council, a candidate plans to ask for a recount after a tight race Tuesday. Alicia Bowman edged out incumbent Greg Schwartz by 30 votes in Ward 6. But in that race there were 150 write-ins. So Schwartz announced he plans to ask for a recount.

"What ultimately made the decision is that it's such a slim margin - less than a percent of the vote," Schwartz told Patch. "I just probably wouldn't sleep well until I understood that it had been looked at."

He said he wasn't sure at first about just what to do when the results came back. Some 7,460 voted for Danberg, and 6,742 voted for Bowman and 6,712 voted for him.

"I don't want people to think I was a sore loser," he said. " but really I just want to make sure it's as it is. "

State law allows candidates to petition for a recount no matter the margin of the initial count in municipal elections. A petition for a recount must be filed within 10 days of an election, so Schwartz has until next Friday to submit his. City Clerk David Olson said Schwartz has picked up papers but has not yet returned them.

Schwartz has held the post for the past four two year terms. In 2011, he ousted incumbent Charles Shapiro. Since then, both he and Vicki Danberg have run unopposed for the at-large seat.

"The issues are a little bit different, then back when I first ran," said Schwartz noting that as chairman of the City Council’s Land Use Committee, the panel that has overseen the review process for the proposed, controversial, mixed-use projects at the Riverside MBTA station and in Upper Falls he's "become a bit of a lightening rod for those issues."

Schwartz said he and Bowman have had a conversation, and he let her know what he was planning. "She had already gotten a lawyer before we had, so it seems she expected this," he said. "I know that it's not terribly likely that there's been mistakes made, and if this is it, I'd be very happy to support my successor."

Olson is practiced at recounts. Two years ago there was a recount in the Ward 4 councilor race. In that instance there was a write-in candidate asking although it wasn't close. In that instance, results stayed the same.

It's not really a question of mistakes, said Olson. But after the first results in, you will see the results change slightly, he said.

The election night results are a tally of the ballots that could go through the machine and be read. To that number the city adds any ballots that for whatever reason didn't go through the machine and those are hand tallied. They add any provisional ballots and overseas ballots.

The clerk's election department will first look at whether adding those ballots changes the margin between the two it may push the gap between the two candidates apart.

The election office will schedule a date for the recount, probably a Saturday near the end of November. They'll likely hold it at Newton North High School, where for every poll worker who shows up, a candidate - Danberg, Bowman and Schwartz - will be permitted to bring an observer to watch over the process.

"It's a pretty elaborate process," said Olson. And it could be more elaborate, depending on whether Schwartz asks for a hand count or if he's ok with sending the ballots back through the machines.

And as to whether it will make a difference, Olson said he'll have a better idea once the absentee ballots and hand counted ballots are tallied.

"It's tight but I think he's going to have a hard time making up those 30 votes," he said.

Schwartz's full letter to supporters:

"To my many supporters who made this campaign for re-election possible, thank you. I am so proud of all the work we have done together, and thankful for the countless acts of generosity we've seen throughout this campaign. It's been humbling to receive so much support throughout Newton. Serving as your City Councilor for the past 8 years has been one of the must fulfilling jobs of my life. Because this race was so close, with only a 30-vote difference (less than 0.5% of the total vote), I believe a complete and accurate accounting of the vote tally is appropriate to ensure all votes are counted. For this reason I am requesting a recount of our November 5th city-wide election. Thank you for your continued support, Greg

Read these, too:

Wright Unseats Incumbent, Bowman, Schwartz Race Still Unclear

Patch Candidate Profile: Greg Schwartz

Newton Election Results 2019: City Council, School Committee

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).