Bob Fenwick is officially on the ballot for the November City Council election, having beaten fellow Democrat Wes Bellamy for the spot by five votes after a dramatic second-place tie on Tuesday.
“It’s the darndest thing I’ve ever been through, I know that for a fact,” Fenwick said after the final votes were counted on Friday.
Incumbent Kristin Szakos won the most votes in the June 11 primary—1,370—securing her spot on the Democratic ticket. But Fenwick, a 68-year-old contractor who unsuccessfully ran as an independent in 2008 and 2011, and Bellamy, 26-year-old teacher and youth advocate, each received 1,088 votes, which led to an almost unprecedented three-day wait for a provisional ballot count before the final results came in.
After a two-hour electoral board meeting the following morning during which six provisional ballots were tallied, Fenwick had the lead over Bellamy with three extra votes, but with four outstanding provisional ballots cast by voters who showed up at the polls without identification, it still could have been anybody’s race. Three of those four ballots were counted Friday, with two more votes going to Fenwick and none to Bellamy.
“Now that the drama’s over, it’s time to get back to work,” Fenwick said.