City council incumbent Joan Peck is closer to becoming the next mayor of Longmont as she held a 175-vote lead over fellow council member Tim Waters, according to the latest vote count from Boulder County.
Peck said she is grateful to voters for her perceived win but wants to make sure all votes are counted before she declares victory.
“It’s overwhelming and humbling,” Peck said Wednesday night. “But it may take a day or two to make sure the ballots are counted and cured. I want to make sure it is done correctly.”
Peck collected 7,643 votes to 7,468 for Waters — 40.48% to 39.56% respectively — in the latest tally. Gregory Harris has 3,769 votes, or 20% of the vote.
Peck and Waters have been neck-and-neck ever since polls closed Tuesday night and Waters held a slight lead after votes were posted just after midnight Wednesday.
Waters said if the totals hold up, he will call Peck and concede the election. Before that, he also wants to see how many more votes will be tabulated.
“I want to rely on actual data,” Waters said.
He said the election as it currently stands, will not fall into recount territory. There has to be a ½ of 1% difference in the vote totals between the two candidates to trigger a recount, Waters said.
According to Boulder County Elections, the state of Colorado can order an automatic recount of votes if the difference between vote totals is less than or equal to .5%. As votes stand currently, there is a difference of 175 votes. In order to tabulate whether a recount could be ordered by the state, the difference of the votes between candidates is divided by the winning candidate total. If this is less than or equal to .5%, a recount can be issued. The math shows 175/7,643=.02289677 or a 2.29% difference.
In the six-person race for two at-large seats on the city council, Shiquita Yarbrough leads with 22.15% of the vote followed by council incumbent Aren Rodriguez at 21.75% of the vote.
Yarbrough is making history as she is Longmont’s first African-American woman to serve on the city council.
“I am just so grateful,” Yarbrough said. “I have never run for political office before and for people to believe in me is humbling. Through my drive and passion, here I am.”
