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Fairfield Sets Vote Recount for Monday

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – This year’s local elections are not quite over yet. The Registrars of Voters will recount ballots in four of Fairfield’s 10 districts Monday.

Any electoral race with a margin of victory less than 1 percent of the total votes cast goes to an automatic recount by state law. Representative Town Meeting races in Districts 4, 6, 8 and 10 all fell within that range Tuesday. Volunteers will rerun those districts’ ballots through the voting machines Monday to ensure that vote totals are accurate.

The constable race also fell within the recount threshold. But eighth-place finisher Joseph Gall, who came within 50 votes of the seventh and final constable position, backed out of the race Wednesday.

The closest contest will be in District 4. Republican Art Hug lost his seat to Democratic challenger Al Menillo by just one vote, 528-527. Fourth-place finisher Amy Mezoff was only a few votes ahead of the two with 534.

District 6 was also extremely close. Republican challenger James Baldwin came within just three votes of ruining the Democrats’ sweep of that district. But as it stood at the end of Tuesday’s tally, he trailed Jay Wolk 602-599.

Districts 8 and 10 were also close enough for a recount, but are not likely to change the Republicans’ 27-23 lead on Fairfield’s legislative body. Democrat and Working Families candidate Robert Greenberger finished sixth in District 8 with 533 votes, but for the fifth and last RTM slot in the area he’ll compete against fellow Democrat Alan Marks.

Four candidates are separated by 20 votes in District 10. Three are Republicans — current winner Bruce Ryan (596), incumbent Michael Mears (588) and eighth-place finisher Brian Farnen. Only Charles Abercrombie, who ranked seventh in the district with 580 votes, threatens to take another seat for the Democrats there.

This is the second automatic recount in as many elections for Fairfield. The race for the 132nd district seat in the state House of Representatives between Brenda Kupchick and Tom Drew came down to just 13 votes in November, 2010. Kupchick ended up gaining eight votes in the recount.

The recount start at 9 a.m. on Nov. 14 at the Fairfield Senior Center, 100 Mona Terr. The public is allowed to watch.

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