Waltham Candidate Loses By 10 Votes, To Call For Recount

WALTHAM, MA — For the first time in years, a city council candidate plans to ask for a recount after a tight race Tuesday. In Ward 2, where the city is working to build a new, multi-million dollar high school, Caren Dunn squeaked onto the council, 10 votes ahead of Bill Hanley. There were three write-in votes and 42 people left the ballot blank. 1,441 voted.

"I plan to fill out the form from the state tomorrow," Hanley told Patch, who added he didn't anticipate a change in the results, but it was more about principle.

State law allows candidates to petition for a recount no matter the margin of the initial count in municipal elections.

"With such a tight margin and 42 blank ballots, I feel like I owe it to those who gave up so much of their time and who were so generous," he said. "Part of me thinks it's a sore loser move, I was beaten, no one likes that, but I feel like I owe it to the people who voted for me."

Hanley contacted Dunn, and congratulated her on her win and let her know his plans, saying he thought she should hear it from him directly.

"She worked hard," he said, noting he topped the ticket in the preliminary by about 170 votes, but she flipped the script in the election; "That was quite a sling."

Hanley said he enjoyed the experience of campaigning and learned a lot about how Waltham and Ward 2 functions.

Although he said he's disappointed, and feels a bit guilty to family members and supporters, regardless of the final outcome, he plans to continue to be involved around the ward, where he grew up.

"There's gonna be a lot going on in the neighborhood," he said, noting the high school is yet to be built (900 feet from his property) and there is plenty to do there.

"I still hope that my youngest son will have his senior year there," he said, adding he plans to keep his seat on the local board of health, and Waltham Youth Baseball. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I really would like to thank everyone, thanks doesn't seem like a lot, but the support from my campaign, family and friends - I never had to ask anyone twice. People were very generous. It was a learning experience that won't go to waste. "

City Clerk Robert Waddick said it's been a while since there was a race in the city so close.

"Ward 2 race was really, really close," he said, noting that his office is still tallying the hand count and international votes.

And although it's not something the city has had to do often - the last recount was several years ago in reference to the community preservation act - his office is brushing up on procedure.

"If we have a formal petition filed, we'll follow the law and do what's necessary," he said. "It's the candidate's right."

Petition for a recount must be filed within 10 days of an election, so Hanley has until Friday to submit his. Waddick said the official results tend to hold up, but there can be a margin of error in the number of blanks or write ins.

Other fun facts about this election:

In Ward 6 Sean Durkee upset Incumbent Sharline Nabulime by 59 votes. Some 538 voted for him, and 479 voted for Nabulime. Three people wrote in and 60 left the ballot blank. A total of 1,080 cast ballots there.

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy got 7,758 votes to Diane LeBlanc's 3,791 in the mayoral elections. (11,549 voted in total) In 2015, the last time McCarthy had a challenger, State Rep. Tom Stanley who is also a city councilor got 4,948 votes to the mayor's 6,074. (11,024 voted)

Read this, too:
Waltham 2019 Election Results: Mayor McCarthy In, Logan Out

Waltham's Biggest Issue, According To City Council Candidates

Waltham Mayoral Candidates McCarthy, LeBlanc Face Off In Debate
Turnout is Up in Waltham

Councilor Elect Pas Among Youngest In Waltham

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).