John J. Beltrandi III
Fat lady has yet to sing in At-large race
WESTFIELD – The Board of Registrars will convene Friday to decide how nine “provisional’ ballots will be counted, which could have a direct impact on the City Councilor At-large race where Steve Dondley came in just three votes ahead of former Councilor John J. Beltrandi to secure the seventh and final seat.
Beltrandi and Dondley have both made inquires with the City Clerk’s Office about the process to initiate a recount of the ballots in all 12 voting precincts.
Steve Dondley
Currently it is Beltrandi who would have to initiate the recount by submitting petitions, with the signatures of 10 registered voters in that specific precinct, but the provisional ballot review Friday could flip which of the two candidates who has to initiate the recount.
The clock is ticking. The recount must be submitted within 10 days of the election, while both candidates appear to be waiting for the outcome of the provisional ballot review Friday.
A spokeswoman for the City Clerk’s Office said there is nothing in the City Charter that would trigger a recount of an election. Some communities have language that require a recount if two candidates are separated by less than some percentage of the ballot cast or number of registered voters in that community.
“There is nothing in our charter, no such thing as an automatic recount, the candidate has to submit a recount petition,” the spokeswoman said.
Beltrandi said Wednesday that he plans to start to collect signatures, but that effort may be impacted when the Board of Registrars completes its review of the provisional ballots.
“If it goes up to 10 votes separating us, I may not seek a recount,” Beltrandi said, “so the outcome Friday may have some impact.”
Beltrandi said that he was told by the clerk’s office that the recount petition requires the valid signatures of 10 registered voters in each of the city’s six wards.
Dondley said this morning that he would make a decision on whether to seek a recount if the outcome of the race changes after the Board of Registrars reviews the nine provision ballots.
”The recount is a very tedious process and I don’t know how much it would cost the city. I’d have to think about it, but it is a possibility,” Dondley said.
