Pelham council calls special meeting to canvass election results

Published 4:06 pm Thursday, August 30, 2012

By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Pelham City Council will hold a special-called meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4 to canvass the results of the city’s Aug. 28 elections.

The special meeting will begin at noon at Pelham City Hall.

During the meeting, the current City Council members will review the Aug. 28 election results and provisional ballots, and will vote on a resolution to accept the results.

“Basically, they will just vote on a resolution that says the election was held legally, and they will certify the results and call for a runoff election (on Oct. 9),” said Pelham City Clerk Tom Seale. “They will also present certificates of election to the candidates who won. It really just makes the unofficial election results official.”

If the council passes the resolution canvassing the election results, mayor-elect Gary Waters and incoming council members Rick Hayes, Ron Scott, Karyl Rice and Beth McMillan will receive their certificates of election. Waters and the four newly elected council members have been invited to the Sept. 4 meeting, Seale said.

The newly elected mayor and council members will take office during the Nov. 5 City Council meeting.

The resolution also will declare a runoff election between Place 4 City Council candidates Maurice Mercer and Jim Phillips. During the Aug. 28 election, Mercer gathered about 43 percent of the Place 4 votes and Phillips gathered about 26 percent in the four-candidate-wide race.

The runoff election will be held on Oct. 9 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Pelham Civic Complex.