By Thomas Grillo, For the Journal
Ward 5 City Council challenger Marven Hyppolite came within 54 votes of unseating incumbent Dianna Chakoutis and he wants a recount.
“I wasn’t going to do it, but several Ward 5 residents reached out to me,” he said. “They they were concerned that not all the ballots were counted, and we just want to make sure.”
City Clerk Janet Rowe said Hyppolite has until Friday at 5 p.m. to file for a recount. Given that it is a single ward race, the recount will be completed by City Hall staff and is not expected to cost the city.
Rowe said she does not expect the results to change based on the recount.
“I am really confident of the results,” she said. “The new machines are nearly flawless. I don’t think he will find anything any different, but it’s his right to do so.”
The November election was the third time Hyppolite, a case worker for U.S. Rep Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), took on the only woman member of the City Council.
The three-term incumbent won by a razor thin margin earlier this month defeating Hyppolite by a margin of 577 to 524 votes, according to final results from City Hall, the closest vote yet. Two years ago, he lost by 106 votes. In 2015, Chakoutis handily won by 249 votes.
Hyppolite has vowed to try again in two years. He won three of the four precincts in the most recent race. Chakoutis’ margin of victory in precinct one made the difference where she received 285 votes to Hyppolite’s 141.
Chakoutis said it’s unlikely the vote will be overturned by a recount.
“If there were any mistakes, it would be maybe one or two votes,” she said. “But if he and others in Ward 5 want a recount, that’s fine.”
Hyppolite said he is not sure the recount will make him the winner. But he noted there were 71 blanks cast, the highest number of any contested ward race.
“It could be that Dianna will pick up some votes after the recount,” he said. “My goal is to make sure all the ballots are counted and everyone’s vote counts.”