Farley Readies for a Recount in Second Ward Race

The race for the Second Ward seat on Newport's City Council isn't over just yet.

Challenger Michael Farley, who lost by just seven votes after the final tally Tuesday night, said on Wednesday that he e-mailed Newport Canvassing Clerk Richard O'Neill at 9:30 a.m. this morning indicating that he would like a recount in the Second Ward. Farley said he has prepared a handwritten letter to deliver to the canvassing officer no later than Thursday. Challenges for recounts must be made by next Tuesday (seven days after the general election).

The Newport Canvassing Authority convened this morning at 11:30 a.m. to examine provisional ballots that could have tipped the race. O'Neill determined that there were five provisional ballots up for discussion of eligibility in the Second Ward. Of those five, O'Neill said this afternoon that two of them were ultimately certified by the city to be sent to the State Board of Elections, which will then determine if they should be counted in the 2010 election. O'Neill also reported that 19 provisional ballots were certified city-wide to be sent to the Board of Elections. Thirteen were disqualified city-wide.

O'Neill said he must deliver those ballots to Providence by 4 p.m. Thursday. He added that the Board of Elections will begin feeding those ballots into voting machines on Friday, according to his communication with Board of Elections Officer Robert Rapoza. O'Neill would not reveal if those two certified provisional ballots were for incumbent Second Ward Councilor Justin McLaughlin or for challenger Mike Farley.

Speaking to Patch Wednesday morning, Second Ward Incumbent Justin McLaughlin said that he personally doesn't think a recount will "edge the vote in this modern era" of machine voting.

Excited for the chance to enter his third term on council, McLaughlin said he thought his campaign went well overall and that he's glad to see that the Pell School bond passed Tuesday.

Over in the other tight race of the election — the bid for a School Committee seat — Lynn Ceglie fell just 22 votes short of Thomas Phelan.

 "I thought I was going fine," she said of her campaign. "I worked very hard on the Pell bond."

Ceglie said that she thinks Phelan's opposition to the Pell School bond may be how he got voted on.

"I'm disappointed, but it's politics," she said Wednesday morning. "I'll keep working with the Newport Public Education Foundation. I am happy the bond passed. I did the website and videos for it."

Ceglie added that she'd still like to be involved with the project, as well as the foundation. Her children attend Rogers.