Manchester primary recount scheduled for Friday

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

Sep. 27—A recount in the Manchester municipal primary election has been scheduled for this Friday.

The recount, requested by mayoral candidate Richard Girard, will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Carol M. Rines Center, 1528 Elm St. The building, home to the city's health department, is the polling place for Ward 3 residents.

Girard placed third in Tuesday's primary election, 128 votes behind second-place finisher Victoria Sullivan.

Official results from Tuesday's city primary show incumbent Mayor Joyce Craig, who is seeking a third term, topped the ticket in the mayoral primary with 5,481 votes, or 52% of the vote. Sullivan finished second with 2,546 votes. Girard trailed with 2,418 votes.

"With more than 900 absentee ballots cast and 116 ballots that didn't register a vote, one never knows how these things might turn out," Girard wrote in an email sent to supporters Monday announcing the date and time of the recount.

Mike Biundo, general consultant for the Victoria Sullivan for Mayor campaign, said they are confident with the margin of the election results.

"With nearly 50% of the voters coming out against the incumbent, she is extremely beatable," Biundo said. "Our campaign is solely focused on defeating Mayor Craig, saving the city from Craig's chaos, and making it shine again."

The municipal election will be Nov. 2.

According to Girard, the city will have at least eight counting teams taking part in the recount, with city officials hoping for as many as 12 teams to complete the task quickly.

City Clerk Matt Normand said the city requires a $100 fee for recounts; the last recount, which took place in the 2015 mayoral race between then-Mayor Ted Gatsas and challenger Joyce Craig, cost the city $3,200 and lasted 10 hours.

Initial Election Day results in 2015 showed Gatsas with a 75-vote lead, but that margin grew to 85 votes when the results were made official. The next day, Craig and members of her campaign staff filed their recount request.

Gatsas officially received 10,046 votes or 49.74% of the vote, and Craig received 9,961 votes, or 49.32%. A total of 20,198 ballots were cast.

Gatsas prevailed in the recount, defeating Craig by 64 votes to secure a fourth term in office.

The recount dropped Gatsas' initial 85-vote margin to 64 votes. Craig picked up 60 votes in the recount, and Gatsas added 39.