A hotly contested race that led to a nail-bitingly close outcome in last week’s Boston preliminary election may be headed for a recount.
Mavrick Afonso, who was one of 11 candidates seeking to represent District 7 on the council, said Monday afternoon that he was planning to file an official recount request with Boston’s election department.
According to unofficial results posted on the city’s website, just 20 votes separate Afonso from second-place finisher, the Rev. Miniard Culpepper. That margin has since shrunk to 17 votes as ballots that arrived on time but couldn’t be counted on election day were processed (e.g., ballots left in drop boxes that were opened when polls closed at 8 p.m.).
The leading two finishers will advance to November’s general election. The winner will replace former D7 councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who was recently sentenced to a month in prison and three years of supervised release after being convicted on federal corruption charges.
District 7, which comprises all or part of Roxbury, Dorchester, the South End, and the Fenway, includes 6 different wards. According to state law, Afonso needs to submit 50 signatures from each ward for which he’s seeking a recount by 5 p.m. Monday.
At around 2 p.m. Monday, Afonso told GBH News that — with the support of several former rival candidates — he had collected enough signatures to meet that threshold in four of District 7’s wards, and was still gathering signatures in the other two.
“As a collective, myself, Said Abdikarim, WaWa Bell, and Samuel Hurtado, along with other leaders from our community, came together to gather signatures to petition for a recount,” said Afonso, who is on leave from his job as director of external affairs at the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
The impetus for a recount push was the narrow margin rather than any specific claims of voting irregularities, Afonso said.
“Essentially, we are requesting a hand count,” Afonso added. “Most of all, we want to ensure that … all of the voters from District 7 are represented in this moment and that … their votes have been counted correctly.”
The closeness of the race went beyond Afonso vying with Culpepper for the second-place spot. The same results currently posted on Boston’s website show Hurtado trailing Afonso by just 25 votes, and Abdikarim trailing Hurtado by just 3 votes.
According to that same unofficial city tally, the winner of the preliminary election, Said “Coach” Ahmed, received 1155 votes, 53 more than Culpepper.
Afonso said the collaboration to push for a recount, which he initially suggested to his former rivals, could serve as a model for civic engagement when the new District 7 councilor is sworn in next January.
“For all the issues that we face in our communities, I think this could be a model for how we come together,” he said. “Even if we have difference of opinion, it’s important that we find synergy on issues and be able to work with each other … And I will say, getting to meet and connect with the other candidates has been a pleasure, to be honest with you.”
In a press release circulated by Afonso’s campaign, the candidates working with Afonso voiced similar sentiments about the need for a recount, with Hurtado saying, “A transparent recount will allow us to respect the voter’s voices, and allow the District to move onto November.”
Abdikarim was quoted as saying: “This race is far too close to leave to chance. District 7 deserves a recount to guarantee that the outcome accurately reflects the number of votes cast.”
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