The preliminary results of Petersburg’s municipal election are in, with at least 1,073 votes cast on or before Election Day.
Incumbent Bob Lynn and newcomer James Valentine are the projected winners of the two 3-year terms on Petersburg’s Borough Assembly: Lynn had 638 votes and Valentine had 466 votes.
The runners up are incumbent Thomas Fine-Walsh with 371 votes, Tony Vinson with 290 votes, and Marc Martinsen with 197 votes.
Ballot Proposition 1, which would dedicate $3.5 million to upgrades for Petersburg’s schools, passed with 702 “yes” votes and 318 “no.”
Ballot proposition #2, which would increase the maximum sales tax, is too close to call with over a dozen outstanding ballots that have yet to be counted. The first count shows just a two-vote difference — 513 votes in favor of the proposition, and 515 against it.
Ballot Proposition 3, which would increase the transient room tax, passed with 814 “yes” votes and 220 “no” votes.
Ballot Proposition 4, which would approve a loan for water and wastewater upgrades, passed with 705 “yes” votes and 315 “no” votes.
This year’s municipal election only had one other contested race: two 3-year terms on the Petersburg Library Board. Incumbent Alec McMurren, with 612 votes, and newcomer Julie Spigelmyre, with 562 votes, are the projected winners of the open seats on the library board. Incumbent Gina Esposito was trailing just behind Spigelmyre, with 548 votes.
14 outstanding ballots could determine the result of the library board seat, as well as the fate of ballot proposition #2. Valid ballots mailed or emailed before the polls closed on October 1 will be counted as long as they are received by the borough before noon on Friday, when the election is scheduled to be canvassed.
The remaining races in this year’s municipal election were uncontested.
For the two 3-year terms on the local school board, incumbent Carey Case received 791 votes and Petersburg Public Library employee Kari Petersen received 833.
For the two 3-year terms on Petersburg’s Hospital Board, incumbent Heather Conn received 873 votes and returning hospital board member James Roberts received 672.
Incumbent John Havrilek is the lone candidate for a 3-year term on the Public Safety Advisory Board. He was appointed in July when board member Mark Testoni left Petersburg. He received 712 votes.
For two 3-year terms on the Harbor and Port Advisory Board, incumbents Daniel Cardenas and Don Spigelmyre will both keep their seats. Cardenas received 751 votes and Spigelmyre received 843 votes.
There were two 3-year terms on the Planning Commission, and write-in candidate John Jensen will take one of them. He received 66 votes.
No candidates filed for one 3-year term on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The Borough Assembly will appoint a member to the board at a later date.
The Borough will open the outstanding ballots and canvass the election on Friday, October 4, at 12:00 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers. This is a developing story.
