An Ellsworth City Council candidate has requested a recount after losing Tuesday’s election by just seven votes.
Tiffany Dilda Gaspar, a business owner and outspoken critic of council spending who spearheaded the springtime recall petition of five sitting councilors, has requested a formal recount of Tuesday’s election.
It marks the second year in a row that Ellsworth will perform a recount of the City Council race. Last year, the city’s recount confirmed the initial results: area businessman and conservative activist John Linnehan — who was elected to the city’s school board this year after decades of failed runs for state and local public offices— lost by just two votes.
Gaspar received 1,801 votes, seven votes short of Robert Grant Sr., who was elected to his first term on the council. Former Councilor Casey Hanson was elected with 1,903 votes, and incumbent Councilor Nancy Smith came in fourth place, falling short in her reelection bid with 1,704 votes.
The city announced the recount Thursday evening but had not yet confirmed when the process, which will be conducted in council chambers and open to the public, would take place. Last year’s recall was held roughly 10 days after the election.
Hanson and Grant will not be sworn into their roles until after the recount takes place. In the interim, the current city councilors will retain their positions, the city said.
The city said it would foot the bill for the recount because the race is so close. The city expects the recount to cost roughly $10,000, the same as last year.
Gaspar and Grant were the two fiscally conservative candidates on this year’s ballot. Both promised to reduce council spending while prioritizing the city’s infrastructure needs.
Gaspar led the recent recall petition to oust five councilors, including Smith, who voted to censure fellow Councilor Steve O’Halloran after a city investigation alleged he had harassed city staff.
Grant did not sign the petition, he previously said.
Gaspar and her followers have said the petition resulted in the council’s frivolous spending habits, including the roughly $14,000 spent on a rebranding package of the city logo.