Salem Ward 4 City Council Election Recount Date Set

SALEM, MA — A recount in the Salem Ward 4 City Council election will be held next week to determine the winner between LevMcClain and Stephanie Rodriguez.

The Salem Board of Registrar of Voters approved Nov. 22 for the recount at the City Hall Annex. Rodriguez petitioned for the recount after the unofficial tally from election night on Nov. 2 showed her nine votes shy — 818 to 809 — of McClain.

The recount will take place at 10 a.m. in the first floor large conference room at the City Hall Annex on Washington Street.

"It's not about me," Rodriguez said of her recount request. "For the 1,700 people who came out to vote, we owe it to them just to have that confirmation."

The initial count on Nov. 2 showed Rodriguez just one vote shy of McClain with an 808 to 807 margin. That margin grew to nine after additional mail-in and dropbox votes were counted later in the night.

"It doesn't hurt," Rodriguez said. "It was nine votes. I think that was definitely within the margin for error. It's just so that there's no question about it."

Rodriguez said she notified McClain about her intentions a few days after election day and stressed she does not want the recount process to be contentious.

Two years ago, Salem Ward 6 City Councilor Megan Riccardi's one-vote victory withstood a recount — which was then challenged in court.

"I don't want it to be anything that divides us," Rodriguez said. "The voters deserve this. They're entitled to it."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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