Jamestown candidate prevails by two votes

Oct. 12—JAMESTOWN — The outcome of Tuesday's primary for the Jamestown Town Council again lends weight to the political adage that every vote counts.

Councilman John Capes appears poised to advance from the primary to the general election by a two-vote margin against challenger Larry M. Lain, according to complete but unofficial returns from the Guilford County Board of Elections. Capes ended with 54 votes, or 10.67%, for fourth place in the six-candidate primary, to Lain's 52 votes, or 10.28%, for fifth place.

Voters in the town nestled between High Point and Greensboro were narrowing the race in the primary for two council seats to four candidates for the Nov. 7 general election.

Though the margin is mesmerizingly close, as of Wednesday afternoon it doesn't qualify for an automatic recount.

A recount is triggered if the margin between two candidates is 1 percentage point or less, but calculating the margin involves only the 106 votes cast for Capes and Lain, Guilford County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt said. As a percentage of those votes, Capes has 50.94% while Lain has 49.06%, so the margin is 1.88 percentage points.

"We could still get ballots until Friday, but unless that happens this is where we are," he said.

The three top finishers in the Jamestown Town Council primary, all non-incumbents, distanced themselves from the other candidates by comfortable margins. Pam Burgess finished first with 139 votes, or 27.47%; Sarah Glanville came in second with 122 votes, or 24.11%; and Andrew Kinzie placed third with 115 votes, or 22.73%.

Challenger Duane Willis came in last with 24 votes, or 4.74%.

One seat in the council contest is an open seat because Councilman Lawrence Straughn didn't seek another term.

Jamestown has a mayor and four council members, with council members serving staggered four-year terms. The mayor also serves a four-year term.

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul